The Japan-headquartered TV maker Sharp has signed a CNY1 billion LCD TV supply and marketing contract with Gome Electrical Appliance at the Chinese retailer's headquarters in Beijing.

Liu Wei, vice general manager of Sharp, said Sharp would not stop supplying Gome. After the news that Gome's president Huang Guangyu was under investigation by Beijing police, rumors spread that Sharp planned to suspend supplies to Gome and the company had required Gome to pay its outstanding receivables. But the signing of the new contract between Sharp and Gome now seems to squash those rumors.

Liu said the market share of Sharp's LCD TV sets topped the Chinese market in 2008, in part because Sharp utilized Gome's more than 1000 retail outlets to sell its digital wares. Sharp will continue to enhance its cooperative relationship with Gome and its LCD TV products would enter the markets of second-tier Chinese cities with the outlet expansion of Gome.

According to the reports from local media, the new Sharp LCD TV products that are mentioned in the contract will start to be sold in the subsidiaries of Gome Group, including Gome, Yongle, and Dazhong, from December 2008. These products not only cover the popular 32-inch and 46-inch products, but also include the new customized 42-inch, 46-inch, and 52-inch product. In addition, Sharp's latest developed 65-inch ultra-thin LCD TV will appear in the stores of Gome for the first time.