TOKYO - JAPAN'S Sharp will cut production of liquid crystal display panels to cope with reduced demand due to the global economic slump, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Saturday.

Sharp, the fifth-largest LCD panel maker with a global market share of slightly below 10 percent, will reduce its production of the panels from mid-December.

The company will decide the exact scale of the cuts after monitoring sales in the year-end shopping season, the business daily said, without citing sources.

The top four LCD panel makers in the world have already reduced production to weather the ongoing sales slump.

The leading Samsung Electronics of South Korea has already cut production by around five per cent, while LG Display of South Korea and Taiwanese firms AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. have also lowered output, the Nikkei said.

The report came days after the United States imposed fines totaling US$585 million (S$888 million) on Sharp and two other manufacturers for their roles in fixing the prices of LCD panels.

US officials say Sharp was involved in price-fixing between 2001 and 2006 for LCDs sold to makers of computers, mobile phones and portable music players. -- AFP