'Panasonic will completely withdraw from its solar cell manufacturing business.'

Japan's Panasonic will completely withdraw from its solar cell manufacturing business.

According to the Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 31st, Panasonic plans to end production of solar cells at factories in Malaysia and Shimane Prefecture in Japan by the end of this year and focus its management resources instead of growing energy management projects. Panasonic also announced withdrawal of its business last year by suspending joint production of solar cells with Tesla, a U.S. electric vehicle company.

With Panasonic's exit, only Kyocera and Sharp are left to manufacture solar cells in Japan.

Panasonic is planning to continue its business that will supply solar panels from other companies and build power generation systems at home. Samsung Electronics is planning to focus on production of power conversion devices and others.

For Panasonic, solar cells were a good business that boasted the world's top market share until the 2000s during the old Sanyo War. In 2009, the brand HIT ranked third in the global top ranking.

However, due to the recent price competition with Chinese companies such as Jinko Solar, the solar cell business has been reduced to being a cheondeok boy in Panasonic. Profitability has also worsened as prices of solar panels have decreased. According to statistics from the International Energy Agency (IEA), panel prices this year are about one-third of 2012.