The price for liquid-crystal-display (LCD) panels used in computers and televisions may decline in the second half of this month because of excessive inventories, but the fall may slow as some panel manufacturers start cutting production, market researcher DisplaySearch said yesterday.
The price for a mainstream 19-inch LCD panel for a computer monitor is expected to drop by another US$8, or around 7 percent, to US$107 per unit in the second half of this month from two weeks ago, a bi-monthly report released by the Austin, Texas-based researcher said.
“”Panel price pressure remains very heavy. Brands and system integrators are emphasizing inventory adjustments rather than boosting sales in the third quarter as planned,” DisplaySearch said in the report.
Overall however, panel selling prices will still remain above the cost of making them, the researcher said.
“We expect the downtrend to extend into August, but the decline may be less severe as some panel makers have cut production or are seriously considering reducing output [to cope with drastic changes in the market],” said David Hsieh (謝勤益), a vice president of DisplaySearch who is based in Taipei.
TV panel prices have dropped at a slower pace, the DisplaySearch report said. The price of a 32-inch TV panel is expected to fall approximately 7.4 percent month-on-month to US$285 per unit this month, DisplaySearch said.
TV vendors tend to have a more conservative attitude on inventories, as they have remained an issue in Europe and China, DisplaySearch said.
Meanwhile, Morgan Stanley has cut its target price by 20 percent for the nation’s two largest LCD panel suppliers, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp (奇美電子), to NT$65 and NT$48 for the next 12 months respectively, a report issued on Tuesday said.
Morgan Stanley said its price adjustment was in accordance with a bearish outlook on the industry. But the US brokerage kept its “overweight” rating on the stocks unchanged, citing an attractive valuation, as the stocks price to book value ratios have hit a five-year low.
"We expect the downturn to continue through the second quarter of 2009," executive director of Morgan Stanley's Taipei branch Frank Wang (王安亞) said in the report.
Shares of AU Optronics plunged 6.45 percent to NT$38.45 yesterday, under-performing the TAIEX, which dropped 2.28 percent. Chi Mei Optoelectronics closed down almost at the 7 percent daily limit at NT$26.5.
The Eurovision Song Contest has seen a surge in punter interest at the bookmakers, becoming a major betting event, experts said ahead of last night’s giant glamfest in Basel. “Eurovision has quietly become one of the biggest betting events of the year,” said Tomi Huttunen, senior manager of the Online Computer Finland (OCS) betting and casino platform. Betting sites have long been used to gauge which way voters might be leaning ahead of the world’s biggest televised live music event. However, bookmakers highlight a huge increase in engagement in recent years — and this year in particular. “We’ve already passed 2023’s total activity and
Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) today announced that his company has selected "Beitou Shilin" in Taipei for its new Taiwan office, called Nvidia Constellation, putting an end to months of speculation. Industry sources have said that the tech giant has been eyeing the Beitou Shilin Science Park as the site of its new overseas headquarters, and speculated that the new headquarters would be built on two plots of land designated as "T17" and "T18," which span 3.89 hectares in the park. "I think it's time for us to reveal one of the largest products we've ever built," Huang said near the
China yesterday announced anti-dumping duties as high as 74.9 percent on imports of polyoxymethylene (POM) copolymers, a type of engineering plastic, from Taiwan, the US, the EU and Japan. The Chinese Ministry of Commerce’s findings conclude a probe launched in May last year, shortly after the US sharply increased tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, computer chips and other imports. POM copolymers can partially replace metals such as copper and zinc, and have various applications, including in auto parts, electronics and medical equipment, the Chinese ministry has said. In January, it said initial investigations had determined that dumping was taking place, and implemented preliminary
Intel Corp yesterday reinforced its determination to strengthen its partnerships with Taiwan’s ecosystem partners including original-electronic-manufacturing (OEM) companies such as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and chipmaker United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電). “Tonight marks a new beginning. We renew our new partnership with Taiwan ecosystem,” Intel new chief executive officer Tan Lip-bu (陳立武) said at a dinner with representatives from the company’s local partners, celebrating the 40th anniversary of the US chip giant’s presence in Taiwan. Tan took the reins at Intel six weeks ago aiming to reform the chipmaker and revive its past glory. This is the first time Tan
RSS