| Toshiba and Matsushita Agree to Establish a Joint Venture For Manufacturing LCD Panels in Singapore 23 February, 2001
Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. Tokyo, Japan -- Toshiba Corporation, a leading electrical and electronic product maker and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., best known for its Panasonic brand products today announced that they will establish a joint venture to manufacture low temperature polysilicon LCD (liquid crystal display) panels in Tampines, Singapore. The new joint venture company will be incorporated in March this year, and its initial capital of 50 billion yen (US$431 million), will be 67% subscribed by Toshiba and 33% by Matsushita. Production of polysilicon LCD panels is scheduled to start in July 2002, and an overall investment of 123 billion yen ($1,060 million) is expected to raise production capacity to 55,000 730mm x 920mm glass substrates per month by fiscal year 2003, the highest output of any polysilicon LCD facility. Plans call for the plant to employ 750 people. Mr. Tadashi Okamura, President and Chief Executive Officer of Toshiba Corporation said, "We are delighted to partner with Matsushita. This is a collaboration of industry leaders that will promote polysilicon TFTs as the display of choice in next-generation products. The joint venture allows us to fuse advanced technology from both partners, and will assure that Toshiba can solidify its leadership in the low temperature polysilicon LCD market. We look forward to a bright future for the JV and our LCD business." "Polysilicon LCD panels will be critical key devices for a wide range of digital network appliances such as video mobile phones, PDA's and advanced TV's. I hope the combination of Toshiba's advanced low-temperature polysilicon LCD technology and our fast-response LCD driving technology will bring more advanced and cost competitive solutions to our customers in the global market place," said Matsushita President Kunio Nakamura. Singapore is chosen as a prime location for this TFT LCD joint venture because of its excellent infrastructure, availability of skilled manpower and strong supporting industries. The 35-hectare Advanced Display Park in Tampines, managed by the JTC Corporation, provides a comprehensive solution to the infrastructure needs of this plant. Commented Mr. Ko Kheng Hwa, Managing Director, Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB), "This first TFT LCD project in Singapore is very significant as it marks the birth of a new industry cluster for Singapore's electronics industry. Being one of the largest and most technologically advanced TFT LCD plants in the world, this investment is a clear endorsement of Singapore's strong capabilities in high technology manufacturing. As the first wholly-owned Japanese TFT LCD project outside Japan, this project is also an affirmation of Singapore's long term competitiveness as a total manufacturing solutions hub for Japanese companies." The high-resolution LCD market enjoys continued growth, thanks to increasing demand for such products as next-generation video-capable mobile phones, PDAs, portable PCs, desktop LCD TVs and monitors, and personal DVD players. Nomura Research Institute forecasts that the market will surpass four trillion-yen in 2004, up from 2.5 trillion yen in this calendar year. Low temperature polysilicon LCDs are fast establishing themselves as the TFT display of choice, as they offer higher image quality with a lower number of external components and connections. They also feature the lightness and resilience required for small mobile devices. Low temperatute polysilicon LCD know-how is also positioned as a core technology for the development of organic electroluminescent panels in the future. Toshiba and Matsushita are considering extending their collaboration in low temperature polysilicon LCDs into the areas of product development, material procurement and mutual supply of product. Toshiba Corporation's wide-ranging capabilities assures its position as a leading company in LCDs, CRTs, batteries, semiconductors and other electronic devices, and allows it to support its customers around the world with a complete portfolio of electronic devices. Toshiba has 191,000 employees worldwide and annual sales of over US$50 billion. Visit Toshiba's website at http://www.toshiba.co.jp Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (MEI) (NYSE: MC), best known for its Panasonic brand name, is a worldwide leader in the development and manufacture of electronics products for a wide range of consumer, business, and industrial needs. Based in Osaka, Japan, the company recorded consolidated sales of US$68.9 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000. For more information, visit Matsushita's website at http://www.panasonic.co.jp/global/top.html
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