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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1998-0167

Philips Consumer Electronics and Fujitsu to Co-operate in Development of Colour PDP for Flat TVs

August 10, 1998 --- Philips Consumer Electronics and Fujitsu Limited today announced a joint development agreement covering design and refinement of colour plasma display panels (PDP) used in flat televisions for the consumer market. The agreement strengthens existing co-operation between the two companies in this field and is expected to greatly accelerate the development of the PDP flat TV market.

Recognising at an early stage the potential of colour PDPs to penetrate the consumer market, Fujitsu and Philips began establishing co-operative relations in this area in 1996. In 1995, Fujitsu introduced the world's first high-performance 42-inch colour PDP, which Philips incorporated into its Flat TV launched in Europe in November 1997 and in the United States earlier this year.

Under the terms of the newly signed agreement, the companies will undertake various joint development projects to optimise performance, quality and features, as well as to realise cost improvements in the design of colour PDP for flat TVs. Drawing on the special strengths of each partner and concentrating on the 42-inch format, the two plan to accelerate development cycles with the goal to bring a next generation colour PDP in the course of next year.

Philips sells its multi-standard widescreen Flat TVs, at a price point of DM 30.000, to consumers who want today's best display technologies for their high-end home cinema systems, as well as to professional users for multimedia presentations. The company estimates that demand for this type will increase rapidly to around one million sets globally a year by the year 2000.

Royal Philips Electronics of the Netherlands is one of the world's biggest electronics companies, with sales over US$ 39 billion in 1997. It is a global leader in colour television sets, lighting, home telephony products, electric shavers and recorded music (PolyGram). Its 264,700 employees in more than 60 countries are active in the areas of semiconductors and components, consumer products, professional products and systems, lighting, and software and services. Philips is quoted on the NYSE, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam and other stock exchanges. News from Philips is located at http://www.news.philips.com.

Fujitsu Limited is a leading provider of information technology products and solutions for the global marketplace. Founded in Japan in 1935 as a telephone equipment maker, the Fujitsu Group had consolidated revenues of $37.7 billion in the fiscal year ended March 31, 1998. With over 500 group companies, including Amdahl and ICL, Fujitsu is one of the world's largest supplier of computers and information systems solutions, telecommunications and semiconductor products, software and services. The Fujitsu Group has over has over 180.000 employees worldwide and operations in more 100 countries. Home page : http://www.fujitsu.com/

For further information, please contact:
Philips Media Relations
Juliette Borghuis
Tel +31 20 59 77914
Fax +31 20 59 77910
Fujitsu Limited, Public Relations
Asako Umano, Scott Ikeda, Bob Pomeroy,
Tel : +81-3-3215-5236
Fax : +81-3-3216-9365



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