Feb. 28 (Bloomberg) -- Sharp Corp., Japan's largest maker of liquid-crystal display televisions, named Mikio Katayama, head of its audio-visual and LCD business, as president as the company seeks to gain market share overseas.

Katayama, 49, will replace Katsuhiko Machida, who will become chairman, from April 1, Osaka-based Sharp said in a statement today. The audio-visual and LCD division is Sharp's fastest growing in terms of sales, and accounts for half of total revenue.

Sharp is spending 200 billion yen ($1.7 billion) next fiscal year to triple the production of LCD panels used in its Aquos model TVs. The company is making larger-screen, high-definition models to help take global market share from rivals including Sony Corp. and South Korea's Samsung Electronics Inc. in the $70 billion LCD panel industry.

``Expanding market share for flat-panel TVs outside Japan is Sharp's top priority,'' said Naoki Fujiwara, who oversees $720 million in assets at Shinkin Asset Management Co. in Tokyo. ``Investors want the company to expand its business and today's move gives a positive impression to people, including investors, that the company is focusing on the LCD business.''

Machida, 63, has helmed Sharp since 1998, pushing the company, which also makes mobile phones and semiconductors, to increase LCD production.

The company is using its screen technology, some of which is patented to Katayama, in other electronics such as mobile phones and personal computers. Sharp today said it will start selling computers that feature TV-sized screens to spur sales of its Aquos models.

Engineer

Katayama, an engineer who graduated from the University of Tokyo, joined Sharp in 1981. Since 2003, he has worked mainly in the LCD business, according to Sharp's Web site.

Sharp fell to third place in the global LCD television market last year, according to Port Washington, New York-based market researcher NPD Group Inc.

Sony, the world's second-largest maker of consumer electronics after Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., had a 16 percent share of LCD TV sales, while Suwon-based Samsung took second with 15 percent. Sharp had an 11.5 percent share.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at palpeyev@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 28, 2007 05:05 EST