Sharp to raise LCD panel output capacity

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's Sharp Corp said on Thursday that it plans to boost LCD panel production capacity at its Kameyama No.2 plant in Mie prefecture in central Japan to meet strong LCD TV demand in emerging markets such as China.

The plant, which is capable of processing 90,000 units of so-called 8th-generation glass substrates a month, has been running at full capacity.

Sharp, the world's fourth-largest LCD TV maker and a major supplier of LCD panels to other TV makers, plans to hold a news conference at 3:00 p.m. (2:00 a.m. EDT) in Osaka, western Japan, to announce more details.

Shares in Sharp, which competes with Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Sony Corp in the global LCD TV market, were up 1 percent at 915 yen, outperforming the Nikkei average, which fell 0.5 percent.

(Reporting by Mariko Katsumura and Kiyoshi Takenaka)