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 (
"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 (
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.
Merida Industry Co (美利達) has seen signs of recovery in the US and European markets this year, as customers are gradually depleting their inventories, the bicycle maker told shareholders yesterday. Given robust growth in new orders at its Taiwanese factory, coupled with its subsidiaries’ improving performance, Merida said it remains confident about the bicycle market’s prospects and expects steady growth in its core business this year. CAUTION ON CHINA However, the company must handle the Chinese market with great caution, as sales of road bikes there have declined significantly, affecting its revenue and profitability, Merida said in a statement, adding that it would
Greek tourism student Katerina quit within a month of starting work at a five-star hotel in Halkidiki, one of the country’s top destinations, because she said conditions were so dire. Beyond the bad pay, the 22-year-old said that her working and living conditions were “miserable and unacceptable.” Millions holiday in Greece every year, but its vital tourism industry is finding it harder and harder to recruit Greeks to look after them. “I was asked to work in any department of the hotel where there was a need, from service to cleaning,” said Katerina, a tourism and marketing student, who would
i Gasoline and diesel prices at fuel stations are this week to rise NT$0.1 per liter, as tensions in the Middle East pushed crude oil prices higher last week, CPC Corp, Taiwan (台灣中油) and Formosa Petrochemical Corp (台塑石化) said yesterday. International crude oil prices last week rose for the third consecutive week due to an escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, as the market is concerned that the situation in the Middle East might affect crude oil supply, CPC and Formosa said in separate statements. Front-month Brent crude oil futures — the international oil benchmark — rose 3.75 percent to settle at US$77.01
RISING: Strong exports, and life insurance companies’ efforts to manage currency risks indicates the NT dollar would eventually pass the 29 level, an expert said The New Taiwan dollar yesterday rallied to its strongest in three years amid inflows to the nation’s stock market and broad-based weakness in the US dollar. Exporter sales of the US currency and a repatriation of funds from local asset managers also played a role, said two traders, who asked not to be identified as they were not authorized to speak publicly. State-owned banks were seen buying the greenback yesterday, but only at a moderate scale, the traders said. The local currency gained 0.77 percent, outperforming almost all of its Asian peers, to close at NT$29.165 per US dollar in Taipei trading yesterday. The
RSS