Pioneer to cease output of plasma panels-Nikkei

TOKYO, March 4 (Reuters) - Pioneer Corp (6773.T) is finalising plans to stop all production of plasma display panels as early as this year and will instead buy panels from Matsushita Electric Industrial Co (6752.T), the Nikkei business daily said on Tuesday.

Pioneer will focus on assembly of flat panel TVs in an attempt to boost profitability at its struggling TV operations, the newspaper said.

Pioneer's plasma business has been struggling to compete with larger rivals with better production efficiency such as Matsushita and LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS). (Reporting by Edwina Gibbs, editing by Leslie Gevirtz)