The production capability of Taiwan's flat-panel display industry is expected to account for 40 percent to 45 percent of the world market in the next few years, sustaining the country's status as the world's largest flat-panel supplier, DisplaySearch forecast on Saturday.
Taiwan will remain ahead of South Korea, which will see its production capability accounting for 38 percent to 39 percent of the world's total, officials at the US market research and consulting firm said.
Data from DisplaySearch shows that Taiwan's flat panel production accounted for 41.5 percent of the world's total last year, compared with 39.8 percent for South Korea. This is the first time Taiwan has surpassed South Korea in this area.
The competition among liquid-crystal-display (LCD) makers in Taiwan and South Korea has become heated this year, especially after AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the world's third-biggest LCD maker, announced last month that it would buy its smaller rival, Quanta Display Inc (廣輝電子).
A combined production of 18 percent of industry capacity following this merger will almost match AU Optronics' South Korean competitors Samsung Electronics Co and LG.Philips LCD Co, which are producing about 19 percent each, according to DisplaySearch.
LCD companies are seeking greater efficiency to profit from surging flat-panel television demand after screen prices dropped 17 percent in the past year.
Global shipments of LCD TVs will rise 60 percent to 31.4 million units this year as falling prices spur demand, according to a report issued by California-based ISuppli in January.
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