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Explosion at S Korean Asahi Glass factory kills one

An explosion at an Asahi Glass Co factory in South Korea killed one worker and injured two, the Tokyo-based company said. The company's shares fell.

The incident happened at around 10:15am at Asahi Glass Fine Techno Korea's factory in Gumi, about 260km southeast of Seoul, spokesman Keisuke Miida said yesterday.

Production at the factory wasn't affected because the explosion occurred at a water-processing tank, he said.

Asahi Glass Fine Techno makes glass substrates for liquid-crystal displays for customers including Sharp Corp, Japan's largest maker of LCD screens, and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), Taiwan's second-largest maker of LCDs.

LCDS

Tokyo-based Asahi Glass, the world's second-largest supplier of glass for LCDs, owns 67 percent in the Korean unit, while Hankuk Electric Glass Co holds the rest, according to an Asahi Glass regulatory filing.

"There will be little impact on earnings due to the explosion, because the explosion didn't occur at the production line," said Yusuke Ando, an analyst at Daiwa Institute of Research in Tokyo. He rates the stock "buy."

Shares of Asahi Glass fell 3.3 percent to ¥1,410 at the close on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The stock dropped 4.2 percent in the past 12 months, compared with a 15 percent decline in the Topix index.

"The cause of the explosion is under investigation and we have yet to know the details," Miida said.

EXPLOSION

The explosion occurred during repair work on the water-processing tank, which was situated away from production lines, Miida said.

In Taiwan, Chi Mei told the Taipei Times by telephone that it was difficult to comment on the impact of the incident. But it added that the company has several glass suppliers including Asahi in order to reduce risk.

AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), the world's third-largest maker of LCD panels, also downplayed repercussions of the Asahi incident in a company statement released yesterday.

"According to Asahi, there is no effect on its production of the TFT-LCD glass substrates as of now. We are closely monitoring the situation and we have the flexibility within our operation to make the necessary adjustments," the statement said.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY LISA WANG
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