The equipment vendor has commented that DRAM companies are expected to scale back their spending "considerably" throughout 2011, and investments in LCD technology will likely be weak for at least a couple of quarters.

Samsung Electronics and LG Display, the world's top two flat-panel makers by shipments, received approval from the Chinese government to set up LCD manufacturing plants in the mainland, two people familiar with the matter said Friday, highlighting the next big wave for LCD makers, which had previously preferred to keep their technology at home.

Sharp cut its annual profit forecast by 40%, citing the stronger yen and falling prices of panels. Net income will probably total 30 billion yen (US$367 million) in the year to March 2011, down from its previous forecast of 50 billion yen.

Toshiba's operating profits for the April-September period is set to come to more than 100 billion yen (US$1.2 billion), beating the company's forecast of 70 billion yen, according to the Nikkei business daily. Booming global sales of smartphones have boosted demand for the company's flash memory chips and small LCD panels.

Hitachi last year sat out a bruising price war in the flat-panel television industry. This year it's back with a vengeance with a new line of energy-sipping LED, or light-emitting diode, LCD televisions.

Toshiba plans to scrap plans to mass-produce OLED panels at its unit Toshiba Mobile Display and focus on high-demand LCD panels instead.

China-based Sichuan Changhong Electric has committed to fulfilling purchasing target plans for Fairchild's power and mobile components through December 2015. Fairchild's devices are designed into a broad range of Changhong products including LED TVs, PDP TVs, LCD TVs, CRT TVs, set-top boxes, refrigerators and air conditioners.