Hitachi, Sony, Toshiba And INCJ Small-Displays Divisions Become Japan Display Inc

A really surprising announcement came today from Japan as Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi, and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan have announced a joint-venture called Japan Display Inc. As you probably figured it out, the three companies and the government will look to fight against their South Korean counterparts on the display market as Samsung and LG seems to snap up almost all the market share.

This joint venture has already been previewed earlier this year, but we didn’t expect it to go “live” so soon. Anyway, the display divisions of Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba will be referred to as Japan Display Inc. from now on and they will each have 10% in this new company. These three companies will have equal rights between them, while the Innovation Network Corporation of Japan will hold 70% in stakes.

All three companies are looking to revive their display divisions and they are hoping to sell millions of parts to smartphone, tablet, and other device makers. You should be aware that this partnership concerns only the small displays business, not the TV and other big electronics businesses. Another Japan-based company that will play a big part in this venture is Panasonic which will sell one display factory to Japan Display Inc. The amount hasn’t been disclosed for the moment, but we will hear more about it soon enough.

The subject subsidiaries will each invest millions annually in this newly founded joint venture, however, most of the money should come from the profits if it will be the case. If not, then I smell trouble for these companies. At first, 200 billion yen will be invested by all parties of Japan Display Inc. in order to get off to a flying start.

Like said, the prime rivals are South Korean companies like Samsung and LG among to others. Although the display market is recording flat sales, the smartphone and tablet markets are only at the beginning and sales will increase exponentially over the next couple of years. Analysts expect that a total of 1 billion smartphones will be sold by 2016, and in the same timeframe, more than 400 million tablets will make their way to consumers’ homes.

Well, in order to constantly evolve, the display market needs heavy competition between the companies therefore such deals might force Samsung up their Super AMOLED production, while Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi will also come up with some kind of innovative display for mobile devices.

The full press release containing all the details can be found at the source link below.