Hitachi to delay decision on new plasma plant- Nikkei

TOKYO, Feb 3 (Reuters) Japan's Hitachi Ltd. will postpone a decision on building a new factory for television-use plasma panels by about six months due to fierce competition and falling prices, a financial daily reported on Saturday.

The Nikkei said the electronics maker had initially planned to decide by the end of March, the location and time frame for the new plant, which would be the third for its subsidiary, Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display Ltd.

Hitachi now plans to make the decision as early as autumn after evaluating the trend of the spring shopping season, the Nikkei added.

The company will increase output at other factories until construction of the new plant is finalised. It also plans to double its annual panel production capacity to 4 million panels in terms of 42-inch products by autumn.

Earlier this week, rival Pioneer Corp. said it would also postpone the planned construction of a new plasma display factory.

REUTERS CS ND1215