Sampo Corp (
The Chinese television manufacturer TCL announced Monday a joint venture with rival Thomson to create the world's largest producer of TV sets. The venture company will be called TCL-Thomson Electronics.
"We don't have details about TCL-Thomson Electronics' product line so far ... but we believe we have a good chance to win more [LCD and PDP-TV] orders from TCL as a result of the deal," Sampo deputy spokesman Kanty Wu (
Sampo has collaborated with TCL for almost a decade, Wu said. The Taiwanese company produces refrigerators for TCL on a contract basis and it has also set up a joint venture with TCL, Rechi Precision Co (
Sampo also manufactures PDP-TVs for Thomson on a contract basis, industry analysts said. Wu declined to confirm the company's partnership with the French consumer electronics company that now owns the RCA brand.
Sampo, which expects to ship 400,000 TVs next year, said it will stick to the strategy of selling brand-name products in Taiwan, while providing outsourcing services for European or US brand-name home-appliance vendors, Wu said.
The new TCL-Thomson venture is likely to bring more orders to Sampo, an analyst said.
The contribution from the original equipment manufacturing (OEM) and original design manufacturing (ODM) side is expected to increase to about 50 percent within the next few years due to the deal, said Chen Yen-liang (
During the first nine months, OEM and ODM businesses accounted for 30 to 40 percent of Sampo's consolidated revenues of NT$17.13 billion.
Another analyst, however, said the creation of the new venture is likely to negatively affect local home-appliance makers while selling their products abroad.
"It's a challenge for local home-appliance makers to sell their products overseas with or without the TCL-Thomson joint venture," said Helen Chen (
"Taiwanese companies can only make a profit by selling brand-name products to local consumers on effective cost control. Without that advantage, they are unable to compete with their international rivals in Europe and North America," she added.
Rival Teco Group (東元) said the TCL-Thomson deal could create an additional hurdle for local companies wanting to sell their branded TV sets to European consumers as the deal will enhance Thomson's edge due to lower production costs in China. But smaller rival Sanyo Electric Co (Taiwan) (台灣三洋電機), said it doesn't see the deal having a serious impact on local companies.
Sampo shares rose by N$0.3, or 1.91 percent, to close at NT$16.0, while Teco were unchanged at NT$12.05 on the TAIEX yesterday. The Hong Kong-listed TCL closed 1.7 percent lower to finish at HK$2.875 (US$0.369).
UNPRECEDENTED PACE: Micron Technology has announced plans to expand manufacturing capabilities with the acquisition of a new chip plant in Miaoli Micron Technology Inc unveiled a newly acquired chip plant in Miaoli County yesterday, as the company expands capacity to meet growing demand for advanced DRAM chips, including high-bandwidth memory chips amid the artificial intelligence boom. The plant in Miaoli County’s Tongluo Township (銅鑼), which Micron acquired from Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp (力積電) for US$1.8 billion, is expected to make a sizeable capacity contribution to the company from fiscal 2028, the company said in a statement. It would be an extended production site of Micron’s large-scale manufacturing hub in Taichung, the company said. As the global semiconductor industry is racing to reach US$1 trillion
ABOVE LEGAL REQUIREMENT: The Ministry of Economic Affairs is prepared if LNG supply is disrupted, with more than the legal requirement of 11 days of inventory Taiwan has largely secured liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies through May and arranged about half of June’s supply, Minister of Economic Affairs Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said yesterday. Since the Middle East conflict began on Feb. 28, Taiwan’s LNG inventories have remained more than 12 days, exceeding the legal requirement of 11 days, indicating no major supply concerns for domestic gas and electricity, Kung said at a meeting of the legislature’s Economics Committee in Taipei. The ministry aims to increase the figure to 14 days by the end of next year, he said. While one or two LNG or crude oil shipments for May
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan’s food delivery market could undergo a major shift if Singapore-based Grab Holdings Ltd completes its planned acquisition of Delivery Hero SE’s Foodpanda business in Taiwan, industry experts said. Grab on Monday last week announced it would acquire Foodpanda’s Taiwan operations for US$600 million. The deal is expected to be finalized in the second half of this year, with Grab aiming to complete user migration to its platform by the first half of next year. A duopoly between Uber Eats and Foodpanda dominates Taiwan’s delivery market, a structure that has remained intact since the Fair Trade Commission (FTC) blocked Uber Technologies Inc’s
RSS