Taiwan TFT-LCD Panel Shipments to Rank Second Globally in 2003
October 19, 1999 (TAIPEI) -- Taiwan will pour NT$192 billion into the production of large-sized thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays from 1999 to 2001.
The country's presence in the global market will rise from the current 3 percent to 31 percent in 2003, according to DisplaySearch, a market research company.
If the prediction holds true, Taiwan will then surpass Korea and become the world's second-largest TFT-LCD panel supplier, next to Japan.
Prices of TFT-LCD panels have soared more than 40 percent since the fourth quarter of 1998. The imbalance between supply and demand is easing, but the market is still suffering from a shortage. DisplaySearch says global notebook computer output will hit 19.1 million and 22.2 million units in 1999 and 2000, respectively. But even if TFT-LCD panel makers do their best to expand production, they are expected to satisfy only 86 percent and 93 percent of real demand in the two years.
The company forecasts that from the second quarter of this year to the second quarter of 2000, the global TFT-LCD panel supply will increase by about 91 percent, and demand will rise by 59 percent. Many Taiwan companies are actively boosting output, so the supply should grow significantly.
Korea's Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is the largest TFT-LCD panel supplier in the world this year, grabbing 24.6 percent of the global market. The next largest supplier is Display Technology Inc., a joint venture between IBM Japan Ltd. and Toshiba Corp., with a 19 percent share. LG-LCD, another Korean company, fetched third place with 13.1 percent, followed by Sharp Corp.'s 10.2 percent and NEC Corp.'s 10 percent.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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