Flat display production matches up 3 Asian rivals

Korea, Japan and Taiwan are engaged in increasingly fierce competition in the flat-panel display global market. Korea was the No. 1 producer of liquid crystal display panels last year and the second biggest manufacturer of plasma display panels. According to Merrill Lynch, a U.S.-based investment bank, Samsung SDI and LG Electronics Co. are expected to raise their combined global market share in this market to 47 percent this year, up from 32 percent last year. Adding the share of Orion PDP, domestic plasma display panel manufacturers’ total share would exceed a half of the world market. This is the result of aggressive investments by Samsung SDI and LG Electronics. Samsung SDI now produces 130,000 units per month, and aims to increase production to 250,000 panels when it completes its third production line in October. LG Electronics rolls out 65,000 panels a month, and intends to increase the output to 140,000 within this year. Taiwan, though lagging in the plasma display panel business, is catching up with Korea in the liquid crystal display market. Until 2000, Taiwan’s stake in the liquid crystal display market was 5.2 percent, but Taiwanese manufacturers made rapid progress by importing Japanese technologies. According to DisplaySearch, six Taiwanese manufacturers of liquid crystal display panels including AU Optronics Corp. and HannStar Display are expected to churn out combined 58 million panels, 1 million units more than their Korean counterparts will. “When Korean liquid crystal display panel manufacturers complete the construction of the sixth- and seventh-generation lines next year, they will move ahead of their rivals again, but Taiwanese and Japanese firms could still pose a formidable threat,” an industry official said. After losing industry leadership for plasma display panel to Korea, Japanese producers responded with consolidation and expansion. NEC, the third biggest maker of plasma display panels in the world, recently announced it would sell the operation to its compatriot Pioneer Corp., the sixth largest producer of plasma display panels. Fujitsu Hitachi Plasma Display, the No. 1 producer last year, intends to increase monthly production to 100,000 units by 2005 from the current 60,000 units. Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. plans to triple its output to 150,000 by 2005. For liquid crystal panel displays, Sharp Corp. aims to double its production of television liquid crystal display panels. by Lee Hyun-sang