Sanyo Electric Co Ltd

Sanyo Joins Venture in China: Japan's Sanyo Electric Co., a major consumer electronics maker, has joined a joint venture in China to produce vacuum cleaners and vacuum-cleaner engines, a Sanyo spokesman said. The new company, Sanyo Electric Home Appliances Co., will be capitalized at $10 million, with up to $20 million in investment expected during the next five years. Sanyo Electric will hold a 60% share in the project, with the remaining share split equally between Sanyo Electric Trading Co.

Japanese electronics maker Kyocera Corp. said it would buy Sanyo Electric Co.'s money-losing cellphone business for as much as $468 million, creating the world's sixth-largest cellphone maker. Kyocera, whose international unit is based in San Diego, hopes the deal will boost its struggling U.S. operations as Sanyo has with Sprint Nextel Corp. as a major customer in that market, although Sanyo aims to focus on its core products such as rechargeable batteries.

Western Digital Corp. said Tuesday that it has entered into a strategic relationship with Sanyo Electric Co. to develop a semiconductor chip that would make it easier to connect a CD-ROM player to a personal computer. The deal, announced in Tokyo, will have the two companies working together in creating the chip for CD-ROMs, one of the fastest-growing segments of the peripheral market.

Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. said it was amending earnings reports back to 2000 to record greater losses, prompting calls by regulators to fine the firm. In revising its results, Sanyo said in a statement that it had booked 6 billion yen ($52.6 million) more in losses for the years from April 2000 to September 2007 than it had previously reported.

Solar Air Conditioner Is Developed: Sanyo Electric Co. has developed a solar-powered air conditioner that it says can cut electricity demand in hot weather and reduce dependence on fossil fuel. The air conditioner uses a 54-square-foot solar panel to generate up to 500 watts of electricity, the Japanese company says. Sanyo is shipping 20 samples this month to electric power companies for evaluation.

Sanyo to Import American-Made TV Sets: The leading Japanese consumer electronics maker said it will begin importing 25-inch color TVs from its plant in the United States to be sold in Japan. A company official said "better economies of scale" at the Forest City, Ark., factory make it cheaper to build the sets there. The Forest City plant is Sanyo's largest TV manufacturing operation outside Japan, producing 1.5 million sets a year for the U.S market alone.

For years, Sanyo Electric Co. could count on steady profits from a vast product line that covered the waterfront of consumer electronics from toasters to wide-screen televisions. Yet now these far-flung products are starting to weigh heavily on the earnings of the Osaka-based company, leading some to wonder whether the company can still afford to be all things to all people. "Sanyo has too many product lines," said Makio Inui, industry analyst at Kleinwort Benson Securities.

Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. said it was amending earnings reports back to 2000 to record greater losses, prompting calls by regulators to fine the firm. In revising its results, Sanyo said in a statement that it had booked 6 billion yen ($52.6 million) more in losses for the years from April 2000 to September 2007 than it had previously reported.

A day after gaining his freedom, the Japanese executive held captive for more than a week by Mexican kidnappers said he plans to rest, enjoy his family and "savor the sweetness of freedom." "This last week was one of the worst weeks of my life," Mamoru Konno said. Looking tired and emotionally drained, Konno, 57, read a brief statement to dozens of reporters, many of them representing Japanese news media, at a news conference at Sanyo North America Corp.'s San Diego headquarters.

Chip maker LSI Logic announced Monday that it had entered into a joint development agreement with Sanyo Electric of Japan to produce circuitry for a new type of advanced television system. Analysts said the agreement was a sign that Japanese electronics vendors are becoming more willing to include technology from American suppliers in their most advanced products, a long-standing goal of American trade negotiators.

Sanyo Electric Co. said it was fully cooperating with an investigation by securities authorities into suspected window-dressing of earnings at the struggling Japanese electronics maker. Company spokesman Ryo Hagiwara said an investigation was underway. Sanyo shares plunged 17% in Tokyo trading this morning.

Japan's Sanyo Electric Co. and Finland's Nokia Corp. announced Tuesday that they would combine some of their cellphone operations into a joint venture with major operations in San Diego. The new entity will have 3,500 employees, Nokia said; more than 200 jobs will be cut because of the merger. Apart from San Diego, the venture will have major operations in the Japanese cities of Osaka and Tottori. The companies did not say where the new entity's headquarters would be.

The president of Sanyo Electric Co., one of Japan's largest manufacturers of consumer electronics, is reportedly planning to resign to take responsibility for a scandal in which a subsidiary continued to sell defective solar panels even after it discovered the problems. Sanyo President Sadao Kondo informed Chairman Satoshi Iue of his intention to step down after a replacement is named, Dow Jones Newswires reported. The news service cited a company employee who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Losing their only break in a case that created a furor in Mexico's foreign business community, authorities Tuesday released for lack of evidence a cabdriver arrested in connection with the Aug. 10 kidnapping of a Japanese business executive, police and prison spokesmen said. Genaro Maldonado Topete, 28, was freed Tuesday afternoon from the State Public Jail in downtown Tijuana after prosecutors failed to adequately support their case against him, said Cynthia Silva, a spokesman for the facility.

A day after gaining his freedom, the Japanese executive held captive for more than a week by Mexican kidnappers said he plans to rest, enjoy his family and "savor the sweetness of freedom." "This last week was one of the worst weeks of my life," Mamoru Konno said. Looking tired and emotionally drained, Konno, 57, read a brief statement to dozens of reporters, many of them representing Japanese news media, at a news conference at Sanyo North America Corp.'s San Diego headquarters.

Ending a nine-day ordeal that raised doubts about security in Mexico's fast-growing maquiladora industry, a Japanese executive was released by kidnappers early Monday on the outskirts of Tijuana after his company paid a $2-million ransom in unmarked U.S. currency, Mexican police said. Mamoru Konno, 57, president of Sanyo's Video Component Corp.

Sanyo Electric, one of Japan's giant makers of electrical products, faces crises both of identity and profitability. "The public's image is of a company just churning out inexpensive color TVs, refrigerators and so forth," said Akiko Emori, an electronics analyst for Jardine Fleming Securities. That image, plus a reputation for quality, helped Sanyo post sales of more than $7.44 billion in 1985, one of only three Japanese companies set up after World War II to achieve this.

A Chatsworth-based division of a Japanese electronics manufacturer presented $15,000 to five Chatsworth public schools Friday for earthquake relief. The Sanyo Fisher (USA) Corp. presented the gift, which was donated by workers from the corporation's parent company in Japan, to representatives of Germain Street Elementary, Superior Street Elementary, Chatsworth Park Elementary, Ernest Lawrence Middle School and Chatsworth High School.

Gunmen seized a top Japanese executive at a Tijuana park Saturday and were demanding $2-million ransom in what is believed to be the first kidnapping of a foreigner connected to the city's booming maquiladora industry, company officials said Monday. Observers say the kidnapping of Mamoru Konno, who heads Sanyo Video Components in Tijuana, is expected to heighten security concerns among Japanese firms doing business in Mexico's maquiladoras, especially if Konno is harmed.

Sanyo Joins Venture in China: Japan's Sanyo Electric Co., a major consumer electronics maker, has joined a joint venture in China to produce vacuum cleaners and vacuum-cleaner engines, a Sanyo spokesman said. The new company, Sanyo Electric Home Appliances Co., will be capitalized at $10 million, with up to $20 million in investment expected during the next five years. Sanyo Electric will hold a 60% share in the project, with the remaining share split equally between Sanyo Electric Trading Co.