Panasonic abandons CRT production on mainland

Panasonic announced it has stopped production of cathode ray tubes for color television sets in China completely, Economic Observer reported (in Chinese). The Japanese electronics firm's production lines at its Shandong plant will be used to produce liquid crystal displays instead. The US$25 million Shangdong plant had been one of Panasonic's five production bases for color televisions around the world. Panasonic has established three research and development centers in China to focus on the high-end market. The Chinese electronics manufacturer TCL, meanwhile, has taken over most of Panasonic's CRT production in China.