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Flat panel demand drives up prices

Taiwan's flat-panel suppliers are hiking prices of the mainstay 17-inch computer screens in response to persistent supply shortfalls, company officials said yesterday.

Such hikes reflect the first encouraging sign for the industry after prices for most flat-panel screen models tumbled last year as companies cranked up production, creating a glut of screens, they added.

"We feel demand for 17-inch liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels is very strong," said David Chou (周定輝), president of HannStar Display Corp (瀚宇彩晶), a leading Taiwanese maker of LCD screens.

"HannStar is currently unable to fully supply its customers. The shortfall is as big as 30 percent," Chou said.

As a result, HannStar plans to raise the price of 17-inch computer panels by US$10 next month after a mild increase in March, Chou told the Taipei Times in a phone interview.

Another local panel supplier, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管), is also mulling over further price hikes next month. This comes after a US$5 hike by most major industry players, including AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) this month.

The move follows months-long supply constraints, according to Chunghwa's sales and marketing vice president Liu Chih-chun (劉治軍).

But the price hikes did not signal a recovery for the industry, according to Liu.

"The price rebound merely represents the supply constraints in 17-inch panels for computer monitors, rather than a sweeping recovery for the entire industry," Liu said.

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), Taiwan's No.2 LCD panel supplier, declined to comment on the price trend, but it has already raised prices by US$10 a unit in for 17-inch brand-name LCD monitors this month, suggesting that tight supply pushed panel prices higher.

"The small uptick reflects rising costs," said Vivi Chou (周先雲), a spokesperson for HannStar Entertainment Corp (瀚宇網俠), which sells Chi Mei Optronics' computer monitors under the brand name PolyView.

The price increases buck the typical downtrend in the second quarter, when the electronics industry is usually entering the slowest season of the year.

A 17-inch PolyView computer monitor now costs consumers at least NT$7,200, up from NT$6,999, according to Chou. Further price hikes are also being considered, she said.

HannStar Entertainment's move has also triggered a domino effect, as Hewlett-Packard Co and local brand BenQ Corp (明基電通) are also considering raising prices.
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