LBA

【郭台銘講稿內容】

April 2 Speech for Chairman Terry Gou

Distinguished guests ladies and gentlemen good afternoon.

I love visiting Japan. I have had a deep and active business and personal relationship with Japan for over 40 years. When I first visited Osaka it was my thirtieth birthday. I am now 66 years old.

In last year alone our company imported more than US dollars twenty one (21) Billion from Japan while exporting US dollars twelve (12) Billion.

Today is an important day for Hon Hai and Sharp.

I have great respect for the one hundred year history of Sharp. The important part Sharp has played as an innovator and leader in technology.

The innovation the hard work and the integrity of Sharp’s well respected founder Ha-ya-ka-wa To-ku-ji lives on today in Sharp’s thousands of dedicated employees.

From the Ever-Sharp mechanical pencil to Sharp’s contributions to radio & TV technology calculators and home appliances Sharp has proved to be an innovator time and time again.

It is because of this DNA of innovation that I love Sharp.

Sharp also means quality. A friend of mine is a fellow at the Chinese Academy of Science. In 1986 he returned from the U.S. as a visiting scholar to Beijing he brought with him a new Sharp refrigerator. He proudly told me this thirty (30) year-old Sharp refrigerator is still running perfectly today in his home.

Similar to Sharp’s well-known quality the never-say-die attitude is seen in so many of Sharp’s talented engineers. This DNA has kept them going through good times and bad times working day and night to continue innovating to continue pushing the limits of technology and quality.

Much has been said about the reasons we have worked so hard to make this day possible. Investing in Sharp is less to do with price but more to do with the value of the company and especially the values that we can create together as strategic partners.

I have learned a great deal about Sharp since I invested in the Sakai factory a few years ago and I have come to respect Sharp’s engineering culture and their continued innovation in the display technology.

Speaking about the leading display technology please look at the display on my right. It is an 8K display. It is making a sixty-six (66) year-old man look young again.

Just imagine if we can use this technology for people worldwide to enjoy the OLYMPIC GAMES hosted by Tokyo in 2020. This 8K display represents a revolution in display technology,and I am proud to work with Sharp to share it with the world.

Sharp is one of the most important creators of the LCD industry. Sharp is leading I-G-Z-O technology in the world which is widely used in high-end phones tablets and notebooks.

Sharp is the FIRST ONE to put LCD technology into consumer products.

Sharp’s leadership has enriched the viewing pleasure of hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide.

I am not going to sugar-coat the challenges facing this strategic investment. The world economy is tough today. The economic powers seem to have lost the ability to continue to grow. The global economic outlook is NOT promising. As I have said in the past I have NEVER been afraid of a bad economy as long as we have the direction and the ability to compete.

I am aware that there are many questions about our investment. Let me take this opportunity to share with you directly my thoughts.

1. Some of you ask why a one hundred years old Japanese company joining forces with a company from Taiwan doesn’t work.I can tell you that:

a) The world is FLAT.Companies are social entities WITHOUT national borders. The common objective of all companies is to MAXIMIZE benefit to their shareholders and they are found all over the world.

b) Sharp is NOT a Japanese company. It is a global company.

c) Hon Hai is NOT a Taiwanese or Chinese company. It TOO is a global company.

d) This is a case of one global company investing in another global company because we know we can complement each other with our own unique resources and SUCCEED TOGETHER.

2. Hon Hai’s investment in Sharp will work because of our cultural differences.

a) Any cultural differences between our two companies have little to do with physical borders. We have more than one million employees at Hon Hai and they come from all over the world. Sharp also has a global workforce which is another reason why both our companies are GLOBAL companies.

b) To those who ask about our different corporate cultures, I can tell you these differences are ASSETS that we both bring to this new alliance.

c) We are proud to work with the best companies in the world who are also the most difficult customers. If they were not the most difficult they would not be the best. We are challenged by our customers all the time. I can share this with you. Hon Hai has become a leader in our industry largely because our difficult customers push us to always be better. We are as good as our customers DEMAND us to be. There is NOTHING wrong with different corporate cultures.We can use our differences to push each other to scale greater heights.

d) I have heard a story from some people in the media.I am not sure if it applies here but it says that we are like a catfish in a sea of trapped sardines. That story goes on to say that if the sardines don’t wake up, swim hard, they will be eaten up by the catfish. I do not see our company as a catfish; I see us a Catalyst for Change. If we cannot drive changes in Sharp our global competitors will eat us alive. We must always swim hard to succeed.

e) I am banking on the differences in our corporate cultures to challenge us to create to innovate to be product-focused with a priority on speed quality and cost-to-deliver to the market. Only by leveraging our differences can we bring Sharp into a NEW phase of growth.

3. I know all of you are interested to know our plan to turnaround Sharp.

a) There is an old Chinese saying that the only fear of facing a high mountain is NOT having a roadmap in our heart.

b) Let me tell you.If I did not have a roadmap in my heart I would not have worked so hard and come to so far to make this important investment.

c) My direction for the turnaround is clear:

i. We will focus on helping Sharp to transform its technologies into products in a speedy and cost-competitive way with highest quality.

ii. In doing this we will once again support the Sharp brand / to be a leading global consumer brand.

d) In terms of the details of the turnaround plan I am not prepared to go into them.

But I can say:

i. I am truly excited by the potential for us / to lead our industry by bringing new IoT technology to the market and to bring radical changes to the home with smart air filters, some can even catch mosquitoes, smart air conditioners, smart cooking appliances, and many more smart consumer products. These innovations will allow everyone to enjoy clean air clean water and clean food.Sharp will be the key player in this industry.

ii. Let me also share with you how committed I am to the Sharp turnaround. The one hundred (100) billion Yen deposited by us a couple of days ago is our commitment to immediately:

1. Action Number One, invest in display technologies such as the next-generation I-G-Z-O and O-LED as well as others / including camera & sensor technologies.

2. Action Number Two,develop smart home appliances with IoT systems that form a truly SMART home solution.

3. Action Number Three, increase production capacity using cutting-edge technologies to meet the growing demands of our customers around the world.

I look forward to learning from Sharp on how Hon Hai can become a one hundred (100)year-old company. In return, I have committed to give my full support to Sharp to ensure that Sharp enjoys another 100 years of innovation and success worldwide.

Let us not fear to scale new heights. I have a clear roadmap in my heart. I am committed to provide the leadership required to turnaround this historic company. I am asking all Sharp employees to join me on this great day to march forward to embark on a journey that will ensure that Sharp will be here for another one hundred (100) years.

This is a great day for both our companies, for our employees/ and for our shareholders.It is also a great day for the global electronics and IT industries.Thank you very much.I wish everyone here a great day.