LCD prices to slide
The decline in prices of liquid-crystal displays used in computers and televisions will persist through the last two weeks of October, led by screens used in notebook computers, an analyst said.
The price of a notebook computer screen measuring 15 inches diagonally will drop by 5.9 percent to US$160, Henry Wang (王鶴偉), chief analyst with Taipei-based WitsView Technology Corp (聯景科技) said in a report.
The price of a 17-inch screen used in desktop-computer monitors will fall by 5.3 percent to US$180, and of a 30-inch panel for TVs will slip by 3 percent to US$730, he said.
``Once prices are in the US$180 to US$170 range, second-tier manufacturers will face losses,'' Wang said.
Some companies are already losing money. HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), Taiwan's fourth-largest LCD maker, said Friday it had a third-quarter loss of NT$319 million (US$9.4 million).
NT$60bn steel plant planned
Dragon Steel Corp (中龍), an affiliate of China Steel Corp (中鋼), plans to spend about NT$60 billion (US$1.8 billion) to build a new plant to help alleviate the nation's steel shortage.
Dragon Steel hopes to start building the steel mill in central Taiwan next year and to bring it on line before the end of 2007, Chairman Chang Kin-hsing (張景星) said. China Steel owns 45 percent of unlisted Dragon Steel.
In terms of crude steel the plant will have annual capacity of 2 million metric tons, Chang said.
The project comes as Taiwan imports about 10 million metric tons of steel a year, according to Chang. Taiwan's recovering property market and public works projects, such as the high-speed rail, have been pushing up demand for the metal.
Two hats for Sampo chairman
Sampo Corp (聲寶), a leading television vendor in Taiwan, yesterday said chairman Eric Chen (陳盛泉) will double as the company's president in a move to enhance its profitability and streamline policy making.
The manage shakeup came after the board accepted the resignation of outgoing president Ho Heng-chun (何恆春). Ho stepped down because of personal reasons, the company said in the statement.
HSBC to sponsor Gaundu
The local branch of Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Ltd announced Friday a four-year, NT$40 million sponsorship to Guandu Nature Park, as part of the a range of initiatives and events to mark the bank's 20th anniversary in Taiwan.
The British-based HSBC, which plans to recruit 400-500 new employees in Taiwan within the next few years, started the nature park sponsorship in 2002, it said.
Workshop on risk
A two-day "Risk-based Pricing' workshop will be held next week in Taipei, allowing banks to know how to implement the most effective strategy in balancing credit risk, the event's organizer Experian-Scorex said in a press release.
The purpose of risk-based pricing is to allow financial institutions to price products in a way that more accurately reflects the risk and costs associated with each customer and achieve a required profit margin, Experian said.
The workshop kicks off on Oct. 27 at Far Eastern Plaza Hotel, with NT$600 per person.
NT dollar unchanged
The New Taiwan dollar remained unchanged against the US dollar Friday to close at NT$33.796 on the Taipei foreign exchange market.
Turnover was US$474 million.
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