Sharp plans to build a new plant in Vietnam in order to avoid new tariffs being imposed in the escalating trade dispute between the US and China. (Photo: Kyodo) Tokyo (VNA) – Japanese electronics giant Sharp on August 1 announcedits plan to build a new plant in Vietnam in order to avoid new tariffs beingimposed in the escalating trade dispute between the US and China.
Sharp did not disclose the investment amount to develop the factory, which isset to begin operating in fiscal 2020 near Ho Chi Minh City, according NikkeiAsian Review.
The Vietnamese factory will assemble automotive liquid crystaldisplays to be sold in the US, as well as make air purifiers and otherelectronics for sale in Vietnam. Some personal computer production of its subsidiaryDynabook may shift to the new facility as well. China accounts for nearly allof Dynabook’s PC output at present, chiefly at facilities in Hangzhou.
Sharp Executive Vice President Katsuaki Nomura said construction of thenew plant aims to sidestep the long-simmering trade war between Washington andBeijing.
Sharp also reported a consolidated net profit of 12.5 billion JPY (115million USD) in the second quarter of 2019, down 35 percent on theyear. Sales sank 4 percent to 515 billion JPY. It was the firstsimultaneous drop in sales and profit for that quarter since Sharp's August2016 purchase by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry, better known as Foxconn.
Sharp, which supplies parts for Apple's iPhones, has suffered fromthe slowdown in sales for the US smartphone juggernaut, as well as fromslumping TV sales in markets such as China. But the company's business withApple appears headed for a recovery this quarter, and home appliance saleslikewise look strong, leading Sharp to maintain its outlook for the yearthrough March 2020.-VNA
VNA
