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Politics : Formerly About Applied Materials -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Proud_Infidel who wrote (34565)	3/15/2000 11:05:00 AM
From: Proud_Infidel	Respond to of 70976

LCD Panel Market to See Equilibrium in 2000, Dresdner Kleinwort Benson Says March 15, 2000 (TOKYO) -- The supply-demand balance of the world liquid-crystal display market will near the equilibrium point in 2000, and an oversupply is unlikely, according to Dresdner Kleinwort Benson (Asia) Ltd.'s Tokyo Branch. The background behind this forecast is that LCDs for notebook PCs and telephones are in more demand than those for LCD monitors. There will be a short supply from the tightness in driver ICs, demand for which will triple due to the recent widespread use of color LCD monitors in cellular phones. Earnings of LCD makers will improve, although prices of LCD panels will decline gradually under these conditions, the company predicted. According to the forecast, the current price of a 15-inch thin-film transistor (TFT)-LCD panel for an LCD monitor is around US$550, and that for a 15-inch TFT-LCD panel for a notebook PC is US$600. The former product has fallen in price because prices of monitors have stopped sliding, and because there are inventories of 1.5 million units caused by lower demand due to the Year 2000 problem. With regard to the supply-and-demand outlook on LCD panels for this year, the company predicts demand of 22-23 million units of LCD panels for notebook PCs and 6-7 million units for LCD monitors. If a 15-inch LCD monitor is priced far lower than US$1,000, however, 8-10 million units will be in demand. For mobile phone use, 20 million units of color LCD panels are expected. As for supply, Korean and Taiwanese LCD makers' production will not deviate from 1999's predictions, but Japanese manufacturers will produce more than predicted, 30-33 million units (computed to 22 million units of 14-inch of monitors). Consequently, by this estimate, 3.4 million units of TFT-LCD panels in real terms will be in short supply in 2000. Looking back, 6.1 million units were under-supplied in 1999, so the supply-demand outlook will be well balanced in 2000. (Nikkei Electronics)