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.

不管一家公司的技术多么卓越，为苹果(Apple)供货也很难获利。日本显示设备制造商夏普(Sharp)比大多数公司更懂得这个道理。夏普拥有足以被应用在一些苹果产品上的铟镓锌氧化物(Igzo)屏幕技术，即使夏普退出一些失败的业务，这项技术应该也能够保证夏普的存续。不过，其液晶显示屏(LCD)技术似乎也要换一个新家了。9月21日，有关夏普将剥离其显示技术业务的报道增多。显示业务是该公司最大的收入来源，但也是该公司最大的亏损项目。尽管夏普的技术更强，它还是输给了生产成本更低的竞争对手，还因为中国市场的竞争变得激烈而苦苦挣扎。

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.

台湾的鸿海是一个意向投资者。它似乎会是一个靠谱的“白武士”。作为苹果的大代工商——分析师估计苹果业务占鸿海收入的五分之二——这家台湾装配商已经和夏普成立了一家LCD合资公司。鸿海也不止一次表露出入股夏普的意愿。

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.

双方联姻有其合理之处。鸿海拥有70亿美元的净现金，可用于投资扩大生产能力，而夏普不具备这样的资源。而鸿海也可以通过更多采用自己的配件来提高其微薄的装配利润率——鸿海似乎已经开始实施这一策略。上周，鸿海和同为台湾企业的半导体封测厂商矽品(SPIL)进行了换股，称希望在智能手机等产品方面进行合作。

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.

尽管这其中可能存在垂直整合的逻辑，与矽品换股的交易或许不是个好例子：此次换股的时机表明，其目的更多在于阻止矽品的竞争对手——台湾上市公司日月光半导体(ASE)对矽品发起的收购。对于与矽品联合会给鸿海带来多大利益，鸿海语焉不详，这令人失望。如果鸿海计划投资夏普，它需要说得更加具体一些。