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Foxconn and Sharp Team Up To Build $8.8 Billion LCD Plant In China (reuters.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the how-it's-made dept.

Foxconn was in the news recently for plans to "automate entire factories" in China, but the electronics manufacturing company has also announced plans with Sharp to build a $8.8 billion (61 million yuan) factory in China to produce liquid-crystal displays (LCDs). Reuters reports: Sakai Display Products Corp's plant will be a so-called Gen-10.5 facility specializing in large-screen LCDs and will be operational by 2019, the company said at a signing event with local officials in Guangzhou on Friday. It said the plant will have capacity equating to 92 billion yuan a year. The heavy investment is aimed at increasing production to meet expected rising demand for large-screen televisions and monitors in Asia. Sakai Display Products Corp's plans for the Guangzhou plant come as Hon Hai seeks to turn the joint venture into a subsidiary, investing a total of 15.1 billion yuan in the company. The venture will also sell 436,000 shares for 17.1 billion yuan to an investment co-owned by Hon Hai Chairman Terry Gou, giving Hon Hai a 53 percent interest in the business and lowering Sharp's stake from to 26 percent from 40 percent.

66 comments

  1. Maybe Foxconn can bail out Toshiba? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I hear the price might be right.

    1. Re: Maybe Foxconn can bail out Toshiba? by dougdonovan · · Score: 1

      i can read it now trump stops foxconn & sharp

  2. Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    ...by artificially inflating costs of goods via tariffs.

    Think about it: in US both consumers and corporations will pay more for something anyone else in the world is paying regular price for... because "umerica, f* yeah".

    What incentive is there to keep your stock/dealings/anything in US besides the cost of moving?

    That is true especially because some companies like Foxconn and Sharp are now figuring out ways to drive their expenses (and, most likely, prices) even lower.

    Disengaging yourself from and ignoring competition is the shortest route to a flaming fail.

    1. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by darthsilun · · Score: 3, Interesting

      You think anything Trump "promised" will actually happen?

      Americans who thought they were going to be able to drop out of high school, get a job at the Ford plant, and buy a house with a swimming pool – like their dads did – are delusional.

      (Yeah, I'm an American too, but I went to college and write software for a living. Now I just need to make it ten more years to retirement. Sometimes I wonder if I'll make it.)

      I'm not holding my breath on tariffs. (And I agree that they're a bad idea.)

    2. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Do you think the people who voted for him understand jack or shit about international trade? They're a bunch of welfare losers crying about how it's everyone's fault but their own that they're not rich and successful. It's the Mexicans fault, it's the Muslims fault! I refuse to take any personal responsibility for my own shitty work ethic!

    3. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why is the "US staying relevant" more important than the living conditions of its citizens?

    4. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Notabadguy · · Score: 0, Troll

      A lot of us voted for him - despite despising him - simply because he's not a treasonous criminal, whereas voting for Hilary was literally agreeing to abandon the laws of our country.

      To be clear, if the democrats had chosen a different candidate...Condoleezza Rice, or Bernie Sanders, or a laboratory monkey that could make hand gestures, or a genetically modified mouse, I would have voted against Trump. I'd also have voted for an orange, a pear, a candy bar, or if the democrats had championed an interesting piece of art as their presidential candidate. Probably even a duck. Definitely a rabbit.

      But I'm not a criminal, I don't support anarchy, thuggery, or a caste system, so I couldn't vote for Hilary without violating my moral compass. Don't get me wrong - Trump is a serious douchepickle. He may do terrible things - but like millions of other Americans, I fall into the camp of, "He can't be worse."

    5. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by darthsilun · · Score: 1

      ...the people who voted for him ... [are] a bunch of welfare losers..."

      I'm not sure which way you're coming down on this, Are you trying to say that all 63M people who went trumpster diving on Nov. 8th are all on welfare? Whatever else I may think about them I'm pretty sure they're not all on welfare. Crack cocaine maybe, but not welfare – not all 63M of them.

    6. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      All those white trash morons who voted Trump will never admit to being fooled. They've been carefully fed a steady diet of bullshit and their stubborn independent nature makes them deny their wrong doings. Trump could install himself as dictator of America, rule for 30 years destroying the country and he'd just blame Obama and those pig fuckers would sit in the ruins nodding in aggreance. They can't admit failure. They've been raised and carefully fed a steady diet of propaganda to ensure that. They'll just cross their arms and loudly profess that you're a liberal moron and wrong. They can't argue because they don't actually know what the fuck is going on. Only that they liked the man with the big mouth who said things they agree with. That's it. Economy, foreign policy, military, human rights issues, poverty, etc. are all lost on them just like that brain dead pumpkin living in daddys shadow they voted for. I mean his sons look like a pair of beta twink queer kid touchers who need too go on canned hunts to feel like men. I can't imagine how fucked in the head they are. I pity them. I pity America. I pity those who were too fucking stupid to see him for what he is, a fake man. Get ready for four years of blame Obama for everything.

    7. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      If people cared about living conditions, they would not be living in the US to begin with.

    8. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      "but like millions of other Americans, I fall into the camp of, "He can't be worse."

      You, sir, will find out how wrong you are. And we will all pay the price... you poor, misinformed, jackass.

    9. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

      ... because he's not a treasonous criminal, ...

      Implying that Hillary (two Ls, BTW) has committed treason? Lack of any trials or convictions not withstanding, what is it you think she's done that was treasonous? Or are you just parroting the same propaganda and fake news that Breitbart and Kellyanne Conway have been endlessly vomiting up like a bad Linda Blair impersonation? Don't just keep spouting vague insinuations – what are the actual crimes that stopped you from voting for her? What? Benghazi? Email server? Clinton Foundation? Whitewater? If you cite those you just confirm you're a Breitbart/Kellyanne parrot know-nothing douchebag.

      ...whereas voting for Hilary was literally agreeing to abandon the laws of our country.

      Yeah, so you voted for the Nazi, pedophile, bigot, bully, KKK fave that breaches the contracts of the people he does business with and grabs women by the pussy. And he's probably the biggest welfare queen of them all, for not having payed any taxes for the last umpteen years. (No doubt why he doesn't release his taxes.) Yeah. You didn't abandon anything, you're not supporting anarchy, thuggery, or a caste system. No, not at all.

    10. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Best explanation I've seen of this issue. Better than all the rationalisation, what does it all mean, where did we go wrong, are we all just a bunch of racist pigs, what do we do now???

      Yes. Yes Trump voters are. But you knew all those people like your dumb uncle from Wisconsin were gonna vote for Trumpo the Clown. And now there is nothing to do, because you millennials didn't vote. Yup, that means you asshole, if you didn't or protest voted, you did this.

      And we will all pay, each of us, because you couldn't be bothered to go find out for yourself if Hillary actually did any of the things she was accused of. Well done.

    11. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Why will it inflate costs? The USA can do anything better and cheaper than anyone, because Umerka YEAH! It's only liberal bigots that insist we put on this farce of trading with other communist countries. It's a form of disguised "charity" and as such it's unconstitutional.
      --
      urdacha

    12. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Er wouldn't lieing under oath to congress/Senate technically be treason ?
      How many shots did how many snipers take at her party at the airport ?

      Hillary fuckarse Clinton has been caught lieing so many times that I would have thought even some of her more rabid supporters had second thoughts about voting for her.

    13. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dems wouldn't have run Condy Rice, but Elizabeth Warren probably would have beaten Trump.

    14. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Umm... the US has its issues, but it is isn't unstable:

      1: China has been not just building floating military outposts, but has been threatening a trade war. I really wouldn't want to be having any business in China, especially because a Chinese local firm has to own 51% of any ventures on their soil, and the Chinese government has a controlling interest in Chinese companies, so wherever Lenovo goes, so does Chinese intel. China is not a democracy, and really doesn't give a shit.

      2: Europe is going to have some big issues. The EU is powered by Germany, but even the German economy is running out of steam. When Germany sinks, the whole EU will feel it. The Merkel doctrine has only created internal strife and empowered right-wing factions in most European nations to gain ground.

      The US isn't perfect, but lets be real here. Trump is a businessman. He isn't going to do much other than keep the status quo, because he knows where the bread is buttered. The US still has the mentality of "business > government", just like in the Gilded Age, and it will remain like this for a while.

      As for Sharp and Foxconn making LCDs in china, whoop-de-fucking-do. China already does predatory practices with rare earths, Foxconn is Chinese owned, and any venture on Chinese soil has to be owned by the Chinese (51% or greater), so an agreement for LCD panels on their soil isn't really news in any way.

    15. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by losfromla · · Score: 1

      Tariffs work fantastically, they are working quite well for China and Germany (the EU as well). China forces corporations to give it their trade secrets in return for access to their market and many companies are making this foolish trade. The US did very well when it had strong tariffs in place, and would do well again if we instituted them strongly especially in key industries we want to participate in (solar, electronics, communications, etc). If you only want cheap goods, pretty soon they'll need to be cheap enough so workers at Taco Bell and McDonalds can afford them because those will be the only jobs left. Most SW developer, engineering, etc jobs will be outsourced because US corporations have no nationality, soul, or conscience. So, enjoy your cheap shit while you can, the rabble will soon come with their pitchforks and torches, and assault rifles and hunting guns. I'll be in the pack too probably as being middle class puts me no more than a few unemployed months out of homelessness.

      --
      Only I can judge you.
    16. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by losfromla · · Score: 1

      Could it be that the economists who pretend that economics is a science have led us down a path leading to assured economic destruction? We have a money system backed by nothing, not a fucking thing! How long do you think that farce can be kept going? The average length of an empire before precipitous decline is 250 years, the USA is now 240 years old, hmmm...

      --
      Only I can judge you.
    17. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by losfromla · · Score: 1

      Fuck you asshole. I'm in California and apparently it was all over before I voted early in the morning. With the Electorate College in place, it doesn't matter how I vote because every other state gets more say so than we do. Also, if Shillary hadn't been such a baby brat and demanded "her turn!", Bernie would have trounced the Cheeto Messiah. Fuck the DNC and the Clinton Machines, I blame them for the Trump win. I sure hope no one else in their family ever decides for office again, ever, not until the heat death of the universe. They were as bad as Reagan and he was one fucked up Prez.

      --
      Only I can judge you.
    18. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lack of any trials or convictions not withstanding...

      That's part of the problem and what many Americans didn't want to condone. Imagine what damage a president could do to our society with a worshipping media and an endless supply of "get out of jail free" cards.

    19. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Thank god your votes don't count as much, if the sort of people you pick are the Clintons and Feinsteins and such (and keep reelecting them over and over). Reagan was one of yours, too, by the way. Not the last actor you've elected as Governor.

    20. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by drinkypoo · · Score: 3, Insightful

      But I'm not a criminal, I don't support anarchy, thuggery, or a caste system, so I couldn't vote for Hilary without violating my moral compass.

      If you don't support anarchy, thuggery, or a caste system, you also cannot support Trump. He does what he wants and gets away with it. He is protected by rough men with guns who don't give a shit about you, especially now. And he is a poster child for the capitalistic caste system in America.

      He may do terrible things - but like millions of other Americans, I fall into the camp of, "He can't be worse."

      What an incredibly naive and unfounded idea.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    21. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      What did she lie about with any material significance? None of the BS you can come up with compares to both the lying and the evil of DT.

    22. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Funny you boo at Germany. When Germany does massive amount of trade with China and comes out ahead. Other countries should be trying to emulate Germany, instead of ripping off China by going into debts that everyone knows China won't be able to collect on. China is being ripped off badly and they tolerate it.

    23. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Imagine what damage a president could do to our society with a worshipping media and an endless supply of "get out of jail free" cards.

      Yes, we have. That's why a shitheel Republican president in front of a shitheel Republican majority in congress is terrifying. Your cure is worse than the disease, and you're cheering about the treatment.

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    24. Re: Good luck to US staying relevant... by avivasatenstein · · Score: 1

      No to your question! The USA lost relevance with the Trump election. He drove major investment from the USA. The USA is a service country, not a manufacturing one. The USA are consumers, with no means to pay down debt accumulated from the Bush wars.

    25. Re:Good luck to US staying relevant... by Notabadguy · · Score: 1

      Think think of it this way:

      Choose the lesser of two evils.

      or think of it this way:

      Choose the unknown over the terrible.

  3. First Psot by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Buck Feta!!

  4. if they're "fully automating"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    cheap labor is no longer the draw.. so that would mean china's lax environmental regulations would be the main reason to build a new plant there instead of..well, pretty much anywhere else there's a market for the product.

    1. Re: if they're "fully automating"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      And supply chain. South east Asia is where flat panels are made. So the supply chain is mature competitive and short.

    2. Re:if they're "fully automating"... by orlanz · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Less regulations are part of it and cheaper labor is still there. Atleast cheaper, more replaceable, and larger pool than Western societies. However, China has been eyeing Africa as the next labor intensive manufacturing hub. So cheap labor hasn't been a big factor for almost a decade.

      The primary pull to manufacture in China is the ability to go from back-office-design to product-at-store quickly and cheaply. China has a massive economies of scale and network effect:
      - Suppliers are many times across town. Worst case, via train from a neighboring country
      - Suppliers are available at all levels of production. From raw materials like iron/wood/coal, simple parts like screws/buttons/wires, infrastructure like trucks/machines/office supplies, and highend parts like sensors/processors/LCDs.
      - There is a well defined transportation and delivery infrastructure for distribution of supplies.
      - Supply chain for export & delivery of a massive volume of goods at a minimal cost
      - Connection to a massive network of global customers
      - A lot of local knowledge in assembling and running the above network
      - With each additional manufacturer and product offering, the above increases in value add

      With all that going for China, I think people are underestimating their opponent and handicapping themselves in competing by passing it all off as "cheap labor" and "lax regulations". Those just end up being icing on the cake.

    3. Re:if they're "fully automating"... by execthis · · Score: 1

      USA is failing big time. Major big time.

      Mass third-world invasion, and this stuff.

      Failing. Betrayal.

    4. Re:if they're "fully automating"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yeah but who built that network? Not the Chinese...

    5. Re:if they're "fully automating"... by Areyoukiddingme · · Score: 1

      Yeah but who built that network? Not the Chinese...

      Doesn't matter, does it? The Chinese may even know that they're not very good at building new, which is why they entertain deals like this one. Doesn't matter, because they're the world champions at maintaining what's built. China's entire society revolves around stasis and stability, especially now that they no longer transfer power between dynasties the hard way. Regardless of who built it for them, they participated in its construction, and now that the network exists, they can maintain it for a thousand years.

    6. Re: if they're "fully automating"... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      So China being awash with cash,while most of the world is stuck in depression/going backwards doesn't have anything to do with their decision ?

    7. Re:if they're "fully automating"... by drinkypoo · · Score: 1

      Regardless of who built it for them, they participated in its construction, and now that the network exists, they can maintain it for a thousand years.

      If the world changes beneath them, they'll find that thousand years shrinking rapidly. Guess what the world does?

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
  5. Not just 16x9 please by mickwd · · Score: 3, Interesting

    If they're building panels for monitors, and they only produce them in 16x9, then my money is looking for a competitor that produces 16x10, or even 4x3 or 3x2 panels.

    My money, my decision.

    If my money remains unspent, so be it - I'll stick with what I already have, until it finally stops working.

    1. Re:Not just 16x9 please by drinkypoo · · Score: 2

      Unless Sharp is planning to go into the PC monitor business, 16x9 and wider panels are all that is likely to be produced there. There will still be scaling benefits that make other panels cheaper, since they will still have to buy some of the same materials from the same suppliers as everyone else. I for one am glad to see them make this step because Sharp LCD televisions have always been some of the best. I am super-happy with my 52" AQUOS and I was super-happy with my 32" AQUOS before it. (I wound up trading it for a compressor and associated air tools which I needed more at the time, and then we got the 52" at Costco with a two-year warranty.)

      --
      "You're right," Fisheye says. "I should have set it on 'whip' or 'chop.'"
    2. Re:Not just 16x9 please by rfengr · · Score: 2

      Yeah, I'd love a 16:10 monitor in 4K resolution, but it's unobtainable. 16:9 sucks for anything but TV. I'd like to strangle those who put the computer industry in 16:9.

    3. Re:Not just 16x9 please by fisted · · Score: 1

      Why is the difference between 16:9 and 16:10 such a big deal?

      --
      CLI paste? paste.pr0.tips!
    4. Re: Not just 16x9 please by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Turn the monitor 90deg, use it portrait. Long listings/editor windows. Stuff used less up higher. Less desk space too. No one seems to even think to do that.

    5. Re: Not just 16x9 please by rfengr · · Score: 1

      I'm an EE, not a programmer. CAD needs landscape, not portrait.

    6. Re:Not just 16x9 please by rfengr · · Score: 1

      It's an extra inch on a 24" monitor.

    7. Re: Not just 16x9 please by backslashdot · · Score: 1

      Get some black tape and stick a strip across the bottom of your monitor. There now you can stop crying cause you just got a 16x10 monitor.

      You might want to move the icons dock to the side.

    8. Re: Not just 16x9 please by backslashdot · · Score: 1

      Wow I failed at basic logic. The tape has to go on the side not at the bottom obviously.

    9. Re:Not just 16x9 please by tlhIngan · · Score: 1

      Yeah, I'd love a 16:10 monitor in 4K resolution, but it's unobtainable. 16:9 sucks for anything but TV. I'd like to strangle those who put the computer industry in 16:9.

      Strangle the consumer. They chose 16:9 screens for one simple reason - because of TV production, they're super cheap. A 1080P LCD is super cheap because they're used in TVs as well, as well as the video processors and scalers.

      16:10 require their own manufacture of screens and video processor chips that aren't manufactured in huge quantities. Thus they cost more.

      Anyone complaining about 16:9 panels simply is being cheap - 16:9 is cheap because of mass production of TVs and its electronics. You can buy 16:10 displays easily - just be prepared to pay twice as much - a 24" 1080p is easily $100-150, while a 24" 16:10 (1920x1200) is $250-300.

    10. Re: Not just 16x9 please by Agripa · · Score: 1

      Turn the monitor 90deg, use it portrait. Long listings/editor windows. Stuff used less up higher. Less desk space too. No one seems to even think to do that.

      Or they do think to try that but the vertical viewing angle when rotated to be horizontal is too narrow on a TN panel and the marketing departments of the manufacturers go out of their way to conceal which panels are TN, IPS, and VA.

  6. Buy Four by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Dude I know you have three monitors on your desk, but come on bro, you know you want four.

  7. Correction by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    "$8.8 billion (61 million yuan)" should be "$8.8 billion (61 billion yuan)"

    1. Re:Correction by uvajed_ekil · · Score: 1

      "$8.8 billion (61 million yuan)" should be "$8.8 billion (61 billion yuan)"

      Thank you. I don't knowa lot about international currencies, but I thought that looked wrong.

      --
      This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
  8. My question: by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    How long until Sharp is a hollow shell?

    With only a 26 percent stake in this new venture and no new tech markets to move into (that I have heard about), Sharp's relevance in the market is rapidly declining. Will there even still be a Sharp in another 10 years that is't just a shell company used for rebranding wholly chinese owned, developed and marketing goods?

    How the Jappy have fallen.

  9. But... isn't OLED where it's at now? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    With Apple supposedly going to OLED for the 2017 iPhone why do we need more LCD Capacity? The capacity freed up by Apple (and others) moving away from LCD should be more than enough to meet demand

  10. Money issues by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The tag says: build a $8.8 billion (61 million yuan) factory in China
    1 USD is worth aproximately 6.94 RMB, so someones math is flakey. Are they confusing yuan with yen...

    1. Re:Money issues by pipingguy · · Score: 1

      Yeah I noticed that too. Accuracy doesn't count anymore, but precision does!

    2. Re:Money issues by uvajed_ekil · · Score: 1

      "million yuan" = billion yuan.

      --
      This is a hacked account, for which the owner can not be held responsible.
    3. Re:Money issues by PPH · · Score: 1

      build a $8.8 billion (61 million yuan)

      Your Slashdot editorial staff at work. TFA has it right.

      1 USD is worth aproximately 6.94 RMB

      Actually, 1 USD - 6.94 yuan. Renminbi is not the proper unit for that currency.

      --
      Have gnu, will travel.
    4. Re:Money issues by watice · · Score: 1

      source says it's " 61 billion yuan ($8.8 billion) factory". The article summary here is wrong.

  11. What about the poor robots? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can bet that they will not even be able to afford the tvs that are made from their work! I can just see it now robots jumping out of windows committing suicide to escape the factory prisons.

  12. Currency malipulation... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ...makes exports cheap.

    Next subject, please?

    1. Re:Currency malipulation... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      China hasn't been buying foreign currency to depress the yuan in years.

  13. Re:Manish issues by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

    Your Slashdot editorial staff at work.

    They only understand lakhs and crores.

    --
    Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  14. More junk, faster. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Not only is it Chinese junk, they'll be cranking it out even faster.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  15. They're actually good. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    I'm not holding my breath on tariffs. (And I agree that they're a bad idea.)

    It's the only answer that actually works.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  16. Ah, the "consumer" fallacy. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Pawning it off on some abstraction doesn't make your argument any more correct.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.
  17. International trade is immaterial. by sethstorm · · Score: 1

    Do you think the people who voted for him understand jack or shit about international trade?

    Doesn't matter. When you attempt to write off enough people, they will seek two things:

      A cathartic release expressed on those that caused the losses
      A restoration of jobs and prosperity for those that were displaced.

    If they're smart, they also pursue the means to insure against future threats. Right now, I'd wager that they're smarter and determined than you think.

    [anti-American diatribe]

    Sounds like you don't know or appreciate the US. For once, it actually is the fault of the people that you mentioned.

    --
    Twitter supports and protects racists - by smearing their critics with the "Hate Speech" label.