China's Haier to form JV with Taiwanese LCD panel maker

China’s Haier Group (600690.SH, 1169.HK) announced plans on Saturday to start a US$7 million joint venture with Taiwanese LCD panel maker, AU Optronics Corporation (AUO.NYSE), state media reported. Haier will hold a 70% stake and AUO will own the rest of the joint venture, which will manufacture LCD TV modules. Temporarily named Qingdao Haier Optronics, the JV will be built in Haier’s industrial park in Qingdao, the city where Haier’s headquarters is also located. AUO’s headquarters are located in Hsinchu, Taiwan. Haier – China’s largest producer of household appliances – produces about 15 million TV units a year, which are sold to more than 80 countries and manufactured in Qingdao, Hefei and Chongqing, as well as Pakistan, Italy, the US and Thailand.