Sharp to cut TV panel production to focus on smartphone panels

Japan's troubled Sharp Corporation planned to reduce the production of liquid crystal display panels for televisions at its plant in Mie Prefecture while considering shifting its focus to LCD panels for smartphones, local media reported on Thursday. The Osaka-based electronics maker intended to end production at the Kameyama plant of 32-inch LCD panels for home-use TVs around 2014, as prices of such TVs have plunged amid a global supply glut, according to the Kyodo News. Televisions produced at the plant are known as the "Kameyama models" in Japan, with many consumers praising them for their quality and LCD panel production for TVs at the plant will be limited to panels for ultra-large TVs. Meanwhile, Sharp aims to increase the factory utilization rate at the plant, where the company produces LCD panels for iPhone 5.