Sony seeks more partners for flat panels--paper

TOKYO, Dec 27 (Reuters) - Sony Corp (6758.T) will look beyond its current partnership in flat panels with South Korea's Samsung Electronics (005930.KS) and may tie up with other firms, the Mainichi newspaper reported on Thursday.

"If you look at future demand for flat panel televisions, we can't say we will have sufficient panel supply and we have to take action," the Mainichi quoted Sony President Ryoji Chubachi as saying in an interview.

His comments come amid a shake-up in the global flat panel industry that has seen Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (6752.T), the world's biggest plasma TV maker, move aggressively into liquid crystal display panels.

Toshiba Corp (6502.T) also said it will buy large liquid crystal displays from Sharp Corp (6753.T).

"There are many forms of alliances. Joint production with Samsung will be our base and from there we will explore all possibilities for tie-ups, aiming to be No.1 in the world," Chubachi was quoted as saying. (Reporting by Edwina Gibbs, Editing by Michael Watson)