Post Time：Jul 10,2009Classify:Company NewsView：388
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- AU Optronics Corp. and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., Taiwan's two biggest liquid crystal display makers, said they expect third-quarter sales to rise from the previous three-month period on a global glass shortage. “We had a significant sales climb each month in the second quarter, and in the third quarter sales will stay high,” Ho Jau-yang, vice chairman of Chi Mei, told reporters at an industry forum in Taipei yesterday. The market is recovering after hitting the bottom in the first quarter, Chen Lai-juh, AU's chief executive officer, said at the event.
Corning Inc., the world's biggest maker of glass for flat-panel televisions, said last month that glass supply will be “very tight” until the end of the third quarter. The company forecast global television shipments will rise to 121 million sets this year from 102 million in 2008.
Demand for TVs and home appliances was boosted after China provided 20 billion yuan (US$2.9 billion) in subsidies for rural residents to buy electronic products to stimulate consumption. Last month, China's TV makers said they plan to purchase US$4.4 billion worth of flat panel products from Taiwan this year, doubling the amount they forecast in December.
Chi Mei's Ho said the company is interested in forming a venture with Chinese TV makers to produce LCDs on the mainland. At present, Taiwan bans local companies from producing LCDs in China to protect the island's high technology industry.
“A tie-up will complement both Taiwanese and Chinese companies because Taiwan lacks the market, while China needs good technology partners,” Ho said. “We hope the Taiwanese government will open up the investments as soon as possible.”
Taiwanese LCD makers are allowed to operate production lines in China to assemble modules, which are glass panels fitted with components such as chips and backlights, before they are used in computers and televisions.
AU's Chen said the company will start selling panels for use in electronics books by the end of this quarter.
Source: http://www.chinapost.com.twAuthor: shangyi
