[May 17, 2013] Sharp to receive remaining Qualcomm payment by June Tweet (Japan Economic Newswire Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) OSAKA, May 17 -- (Kyodo) _ Sharp Corp. will receive the second half of an investment totaling about 10 billion yen from U.S. telecommunication technology company Qualcomm Inc. by the late June deadline, incoming company president Kozo Takahashi said Friday. In an interview with Kyodo News and other news organizations, the next chief of the struggling electric appliance maker said the payment of some 5 billion yen by Qualcomm "will not be delayed" as joint development of new display panels by Sharp and the U.S. firm is set to proceed smoothly. Joint panel development was a condition for the investment by Qualcomm, which made the initial payment of about 5 billion yen last December. The original deadline for the second payment was set for late March, but extended due to a delay in the new panel development. Takahashi is expected to visit the United States in early June to discuss the matter with Qualcomm officials. Sharp and the U.S. firm agreed on a capital and business tie-up last December. The president-to-be also expressed his confidence in rebuilding Sharp's liquid crystal display business. Under a medium-term business plan unveiled Tuesday, Sharp expects to supply LCDs to nine companies as major customers, up from the current six. As for small and midsize LCDs, which are Sharp's mainstay products, the Japanese manufacturer will try to retain clients by jointly designing such panels with them. Takahashi said that Sharp has been in talks with 50 companies on 150 designing projects. The Osaka-based maker is approaching such firms as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. about supplying displays to them. (c) 2013 Kyodo News International, Inc. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]