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This article reports that Japanese consumer electronics neighbors Hitachi Ltd., Toshiba Corp. and Matsushita Electric Industrial Corp. have established a joint venture agreement to manufacture and sell LCD panels for flat-panel televisions. The joint venture, which is expected to begin operations in January 2005, will build a TFT LCD panel production line at the Chiba, Japan-based Mobara facility of Hitachi Displays, Hitachi's wholly owned subsidiary. The consumer electronics giants expect the facility to produce the equivalent 2.5 million 32-inch LCD panels per year by 2008. Matsushita, known for its Panasonic brand, has made the move in an attempt to grow its higher-end 26-and 32-inch LCD television lines, said Toshi Nakahara, senior manager and liaison between Matsushita's Japanese headquarters and North American division. Nakahara explained that prior to this agreement, Matsushita outsourced panel manufacturing to Hitachi for these LCD models, noting that the new joint venture will enable Matsushita to have a constant supply of these panels and reduce costs.