Sharp is in talks with several Indian players and top executives from its display vertical have met with potential partners, one of the sources said. “They have received positive response from a few and are in advanced stages of discussion and should announce their partner by the end of the year,” the person said.
“Sharp has been involved in setting up display factories for partners in other countries such as China, Korea and Taiwan. In India, they are also considering a similar strategy where they are looking to partner with a strong Indian player to take the lead in the project and bring in technical expertise,” the source said.
In India, Sharp is expected to focus on Big screens.Earlier this year, news emerged that Sharp would be investing between $3 and $5 billion to set up a display factory in India.
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The debt-ridden Japanese company is eyeing the Indian market, possibly to revive its business, another person said.
Prabhu Ram, director of the Industrial Intelligence Group at market research firm CMR, said the proposed venture will benefit from Sharp’s expertise, while the partnership with a strong Indian entity can help the Japanese firm strengthen its “market position and business prospects in the expanding electronics sector.”
“This initiative would allow Sharp to meet the growing demand for larger displays while taking advantage of local manufacturing,” he said.
In 2016, Foxconn completed its acquisition of Sharp with the aim of reviving the ailing company. However, last year the Taiwanese contract iPhone maker reported a 56% drop in net profit to $416 million and said this was mainly due to a $541 million investment loss from the Sharp write-down.
As Foxconn expands its presence in India with ambitious diversification plans that go far beyond smartphone manufacturing, Sharp’s installation of a display factory could bode well for the company.
During his visit to India, Foxconn Chairman Young Liu said the company will start manufacturing products for sectors such as information and communications technology (ICT), electric vehicles (EV), batteries, etc.
“Foxconn’s involvement, with its stake in Sharp, is particularly significant,” said CMR’s Ram. “For Foxconn, the display facility represents a strategic opportunity to leverage its capabilities and diversify its production into various electronic products.”
Queries sent to Sharp remained unanswered as of press time Thursday.
“Sharp exited large-area liquid crystal display (LCD) production earlier this year and will focus on small- and medium-sized specialty LCDs for automobiles and XR displays,” said Yoshio Tamura, president of DSCC, a Counterpoint company, in Asia. “We estimate Sharp’s foray into India would be as a technology partner or joint venture to boost the display manufacturing roadmap in India.”
Sharp, which was a pioneer in the LCD industry, has lost ground to Chinese companies that had come to dominate the market. Today, Tamura said, most LCDs come from Chinese companies such as TCL CSOT and BOE, the U.S. company Tianma and Taiwan’s Innolux.
“Samsung and CSOT are only engaged in module assembly but are not involved in the factories as there are no tariff differences or trade incentives yet to set up a factory in India,” he explained.
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