Sony Won't Abandon Plasma Displays

The Tokyo-based company also confirmed it is in talks with Taiwan's Chi Mei Optoelectronics to possibly buy its Japanese liquid-crystal display operations.

Chairman Nobuyuki Idei told reporters on the sidelines of a New Year's gathering of business leaders that plasma TVs might not be a major Sony product in the long run. But he said Sony had not given up on the business, repeating the company's denial last month after Japan's top business daily, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, that Sony will stop selling plasma display TVs as early as this spring.

``We never said that Sony will withdraw from that business. We simply said that we will focus more on LCD TVs and other products,'' Idei said.

Meanwhile, Sony said no decision has been made on whether it would buy the Japanese liquid-crystal display operations of Taiwan's Chi Mei Optoelectronics. Chi Mei had no comment.

Chi Mei, which supplies Sony with LCDs for TVs, has one plant in Japan that makes small liquid-crystal displays mainly for laptops, a spokeswoman in Taiwan said.

Sony has an agreement with South Korean maker Samsung Electronics Co. to make next-generation liquid-crystal displays, starting later this year.

Sony has fallen behind rivals in offering liquid-crystal display TVs, which are rapidly winning buyers around the world.

Sony has been trying to make more core devices in-house to drive up profits in its electronics business.

On Wednesday, U.S.-traded shares of Sony slipped 5 cents, or 0.1 percent, to close at $37.95 on the New York Stock Exchange.The stock has traded in a 52-week range of $32.35 to $43.67.

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