Asia Express - Display
Chinese LCD Maker SVA Group Consigned to Government Custody
April 10, 2009
Loss-making Chinese LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel maker SVA Group has been put in custody of the state-owned assets operation company Shanghai Yidian, as part of the bailout scheme outlined by the Shanghai Municipal Government, according to reports by Chinese-language Sina News and Oriental Morning Post. SVA's 5G LCD plant suffered a loss of 1.8 billion RMB (US$263.16 million; US$1=6.84 RMB) in 2009, while the group's two listed subsidiaries SVA Information Industry Company and SVA Electron Company posted losses of 1.0 billion RMB (US$146.20 million) and 1.1 billion RMB (US$160.82 million), respectively. Stocks of the two SVA subsidiaries went into trading suspension for five days starting on April 8, as the government's plan for SVA may involve alterations in stake structure or corporate restructuring, according to an announcement by the company. Furthermore, it is reported that SVA's 5G LCD production line is currently operating at low capacity, and the government is mulling the possibility of spinning off SVA's LCD operations and businesses into an independent company, according to Oriental Morning Post.