鴻海會是夏普如今的白武士嗎

It is hard to be profitable supplying to Apple, no matter how superior one’s technology. Japan’s Sharp, maker of device displays, knows this better than most. Its Igzo screen technology, good enough to make it into some Apple products, should have ensured its survival even as it exited other failing divisions. Instead, the LCD technology, too, seems set for a new home. 21st of Sept, reports intensified that Sharp will spin off its display technology business. Display is the company’s largest revenue generator but also its largest lossmaker. Despite its stronger technology, it has lost out to rivals with cheaper production and struggled as competition in China has worsened.

不管一家公司的技術多麼卓越，爲蘋果(Apple)供貨也很難獲利。日本顯示設備製造商夏普(Sharp)比大多數公司更懂得這個道理。夏普擁有足以被應用在一些蘋果產品上的銦鎵鋅氧化物(Igzo)屏幕技術，即使夏普退出一些失敗的業務，這項技術應該也能夠保證夏普的存續。不過，其液晶顯示屏(LCD)技術似乎也要換一個新家了。9月21日，有關夏普將剝離其顯示技術業務的報道增多。顯示業務是該公司最大的收入來源，但也是該公司最大的虧損項目。儘管夏普的技術更強，它還是輸給了生產成本更低的競爭對手，還因爲中國市場的競爭變得激烈而苦苦掙扎。

Taiwan’s Hon Hai is a mooted investor. It would be a plausible choice of white knight. A big Apple contractor — analysts estimate that the US-based company accounts for two-fifths of Hon Hai’s top line — the Taiwanese assembler already has an LCD joint venture with Sharp. Hon Hai has also flirted with taking a stake in Sharp’s equity on more than one occasion.

臺灣的鴻海是一個意向投資者。它似乎會是一個靠譜的“白武士”。作爲蘋果的大代工商——分析師估計蘋果業務佔鴻海收入的五分之二——這家臺灣裝配商已經和夏普成立了一家LCD合資公司。鴻海也不止一次表露出入股夏普的意願。

It could make a sensible marriage. Hon Hai has $7bn of net cash that could be used to invest in production capacity, where Sharp has not had the resources to do so. Hon Hai could also improve its thin assembly margins by providing more of its own components — a strategy it already appears to be pursuing. Last week, the company swapped shares with compatriot semiconductor packager, Siliconware Precision (SPIL), saying it wants to collaborate in smartphones, among other products.

雙方聯姻有其合理之處。鴻海擁有70億美元的淨現金，可用於投資擴大生產能力，而夏普不具備這樣的資源。而鴻海也可以通過更多采用自己的配件來提高其微薄的裝配利潤率——鴻海似乎已經開始實施這一策略。上週，鴻海和同爲臺灣企業的半導體封測廠商矽品(SPIL)進行了換股，稱希望在智能手機等產品方面進行合作。

Despite the possible logic of vertical integration, the SPIL deal may not be a good illustration: the timing of the share swap suggests it was designed more to thwart a proposed acquisition of SPIL by Taiwan-listed competitor Advanced Semiconductor. Hon Hai has been disappointingly vague about the benefits of its tie-up with SPIL. It will need to be a lot more specific if it is planning to put money into Sharp.

儘管這其中可能存在垂直整合的邏輯，與矽品換股的交易或許不是個好例子：此次換股的時機表明，其目的更多在於阻止矽品的競爭對手——臺灣上市公司日月光半導體(ASE)對矽品發起的收購。對於與矽品聯合會給鴻海帶來多大利益，鴻海語焉不詳，這令人失望。如果鴻海計劃投資夏普，它需要說得更加具體一些。