It has been reported by various global media sources, including Bloomberg, Digitimes, Reuters and the Financial Times, that Sharp will dramatically scale back its business activities, including in solar.
This would mean, according to the reports, selling off its 100% stake in Recurrent Energy, and closing its photovoltaic module manufacturing locations in the U.K. and the U.S. Reportedly, the only solar business it intends to hold onto is its cell production plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture. Already this year, Sharp announced it would move its European HQ from Germany to Wales.
Responding to a pv magazine query, a spokesperson for Sharp said, "Since Sharp's business rebuilding programs have not been officially announced yet, we would like to decline to comment on this matter." They added that a more concrete statement is being sought.
Reuters reported yesterday, September 27, that a 210 billion Yen (US$2.7 billion, 2 billion) bailout has been approved by two of Sharps main lenders, the Mizuho Financial Group and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. The company has already received 150 billion yen worth of loans, and it must pay back around 360 billion yen over the next few months.
It says that expectations are the Japanese electronics giant will lose more than 100 billion yen this year alone. The Financial Times added that in 2011, Sharp suffered losses totaling 376 billion yen overall, and an operating loss of 22 billion yen in its solar division.
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