Tokyo - The Japanese electronic firms Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd, Canon Inc and Hitachi Ltd announced Tuesday that they would cooperate in the production of flat screens. Matsushita, the world's largest manufacturer of plasma televisions, and Canon plan to each buy a 24.9-per-cent stake in Hitachi's flat-screen subsidiary, Hitachi Displays Co Ltd. The sale is to be completed by March 31 and must pass regulatory muster.
The three companies said they plan to work together on producing liquid crystal displays and OLED, or organic light-emitting diode, screens and in developing cutting-edge flat-screen technology.
OLED technology allows the production of flatter screens because, unlike liquid crystal displays, it does not require backlighting.
The three companies' agreement comes as their industry is seeing tough competition in producing flatter screens.
At this time, Hitachi Displays is 100-per-cent owned by Hitachi, produces small and medium-sized liquid crystal displays, and is also working on the development of OLEDs.
Canon said it plans to soon use Hitachi Displays' OLED technology in screens for its digital cameras and other devices while Matsushita plans to produce OLEDs as its next generation of flat-screen televisions.
The three firms face stiff competition from other flat-screen alliances - Japan's Sharp Corp and Toshiba Corp as well as Japan's Sony Corp and South Korea's Samsung Group.
