TOKYO: Apple will invest $100 million in Japan Display as the supplier goes through “restructuring.” Apple currently accounts for 60 percent of Japan Display orders, the report says. Furthermore, through this investment, Apple will reportedly move LCD orders from China to Japan Display, the Asahi newspaper reported on Thursday, sending the screen maker’s shares up as much as 32% in Tokyo.
Apple still has a vested interest in Japan Display as a supplier. The company makes OLED displays for the Apple Watch, as well as the LCD panels used in the iPhone XR and older iPhones which Apple still sells. The company’s $260M loss in 2017 turned into a massive $2.3B loss last year.
Japan Display is facing a funding crunch due to Apple’s recent shift away from liquid-crystal displays (LCD) and disappointing sales of the iPhone XR, the only LCD model in Apple’s 2018 line-up. Apple accounts for 60% of Japan Display’s revenue.
Japan Display’s shares were up 18% at the close of morning trade in Tokyo, on track for their best day since May.
Japan Display was formed in 2012 by combining the liquid-crystal display businesses of Hitachi Ltd, Toshiba Corp and Sony Corp in a government-brokered deal. (Agencies)
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