AUO says panel demand to rise

Last month, both AU Optronics and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子) said they're considering deferring construction of factories for next-generation products due to sluggish demand.

AU Optronics was originally scheduled to set up an advanced 7th-generation (7G), or 7.5-generation (7.5G), factory in Taichung, central Taiwan, in 2006, while Chi Mei Optoelectronics decided to temporarily halt the construction of a 7.5G plant in Tainan.

A 7G, or 7.5G, plant is designed to cut LCD substrates mainly for 40-inch or larger flat-screen televisions.

Chunghwa Picture, however, said it's going ahead with expansion plans. The company will move in production equipment at a new 4.5-generation (4.5G) factory starting this month or next month, Wu said. Such factories make screens for notebook computers and computer monitors.

The company will open its first 6th-generation (6G) plant in the second-quarter next year. Sixth generation plants can make television screens measuring 32-inches diagonally and larger.

Color filters

Chunghwa Picture is also opening plants to supply components used in flat-panel displays. The company has started production of a color-filter plant for its 4.5G screens. The plant will reach full production of 160,000 units per month by the middle of next year.

The company is building another plant to make color filters for its 6G screens. The facility is scheduled to reach full capacity of 45,000 units by the fourth quarter of next year.