Rival Japanese electronics manufacturers Matsushita Electric Industrial Co Ltd and Hitachi Ltd said today they were considering co-operation but denied a report they had agreed to jointly develop home appliances.
"It is true that we are considering the possibility of working together, but nothing concrete, including details as reported in the paper, has been decided," Hitachi said in a statement.
The company was referring to a report in the Nihon Keizai Shimbun business daily which said the tie-up, including joint research and development and components procurement, was expected to be announced by the end of this week.
Matsushita, better known abroad by its National and Panasonic brand names also declined to confirm the report, but issued an identically worded statement.
"As soon as we decide anything, we will tell the press immediately," said Akira Kadota, a spokesman for Matsushita, quoting from the prepared statement.
Matsushita and Hitachi were aiming to boost their competitiveness through the alliance as they were finding it increasingly difficult to raise productivity and profitability on their own in the saturated domestic market, the paper said.
The two companies would first outsource production of refrigerators and washing machines and then expand their cooperation to other home appliances, according to the business daily.
They would, however, continue to market products under their own brand names, it said.
AFP