UPDATE 1-Sharp eyes China for mobile phone expansion
(Adds sales target for Blu-ray products, background)
TOKYO, Aug 6 (Reuters) - Sharp Corp (6753.T) aims to sell as many cellphone handsets in China, a market the Japanese company entered in June, in two years as it does in Japan, President Mikio Katayama told reporters on Wednesday.
Sharp sold 13 million mobile phones in Japan in the year ended March 2008.
The consumer electronics maker plans to expand its mobile phone lineup in China by launching lower-priced phones on top of existing high-end models, Katayama said.
Mobile phone demand in Japan slowed in the latest quarter as wireless operators such as NTT DoCoMo Inc (9437.T) cut sales incentives paid to retailers to keep handset prices low, forcing cellphone makers to look overseas for growth.
Katayama also said Sharp aims to boost annual sales of its Blu-ray high-definition DVD-related products, such as Blu-ray recorders, players and components, to 500 billion yen ($4.6 billion) by 2012, up from an estimated 100 billion yen this year.
Shares in Sharp, the world's third-largest liquid crystal display TV maker behind Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and Sony Corp (6758.T), closed up 5.1 percent at 1,458 yen ahead of Katayama's comments, outperforming the Tokyo stock market's electrical machinery index .IELEC.T, which gained 4.1 percent. (Reporting by Kiyoshi Takenaka; Editing by Rodney Joyce and David Holmes)
