Sharp to supply LCD panels for Samsung notebook Thu Apr 18, 2013 2:17pm EDT (Reuters) - Sharp Corp will supply energy-saving, high-performance LCD panels for Samsung Electronics Co Ltd's notebook computers as early as summer, the Nikkei reported. Sharp will manufacture the 11.6 inch indium-gallium-zinc oxide (IGZO) panels for Samsung at its plant in Kameyama, Mie Prefecture. The deal is expected to lift the plant's operating rate from the current 60 percent, the Nikkei said. Sharp said on March 6 it would supply large TV panels and expand shipments of smaller LCDs for use in mobile devices to Samsung, which would take a 3 percent stake in the Japanese company by investing about $110 million. Chipmaker Qualcomm Inc agreed in December to invest as much as $120 million in Sharp and work on power-saving screens based on Sharp's IGZO technology. Although Samsung mainly sources its LCD requirements from its own display unit Samsung Display, it also purchases panels from Sharp and Taiwanese manufacturers. Reporting by Chandni Doulatramani in Bangalore