Nokia Oyj, the world’s largest maker of mobile phones, sued Samsung Electronics Co, LG Display Co, AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and other manufacturers of liquid-crystal displays (LCDs) over claims they colluded to fix prices of panels.
The lawsuit, filed on Nov. 25 in federal court in San Francisco, is based on federal and state antitrust claims. It mirrors arguments AT&T Inc made in a suit filed last month in the same court.
Nokia accuses Samsung and more than six other display makers of conspiring to raise the price of displays above the level in a competitive market. Nokia seeks unspecified damages and an injunction to stop the alleged collusion.
“The liquid-crystal displays were incorporated into Nokia mobile wireless handsets,” the complaint reads.
The conspiracy “artificially inflated the price of liquid-crystal displays ultimately incorporated into LCD products purchased by Nokia, causing Nokia to pay higher prices,” it says.
Both lawsuits cite and rely on a US Justice Department investigation of display panel price-fixing. In March, Hitachi Displays Ltd became the fourth company to plead guilty. Hitachi was named as a defendant in Nokia’s suit and not in the case brought by AT&T.
LG Display, Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd (中華映管) and Sharp Corp agreed to plead guilty last month to the US claims and pay US$585 million in criminal fines.
The domestic unit of the Chinese-owned, Dutch-headquartered chipmaker Nexperia BV will soon be able to produce semiconductors locally within China, according to two company sources. Nexperia is at the center of a global tug-of-war over critical semiconductor technology, with a Dutch court in February ordering a probe into alleged mismanagement at the company. The geopolitical tussle has disrupted supply chains, with some carmakers reportedly forced to cut production due to chip shortages. Local production would allow Nexperia’s domestic arm, Nexperia Semiconductors (China) Ltd (安世半導體中國), to bypass restrictions in place since October on the supply of silicon wafers — etched with tiny components to
Singapore-based ride-hailing and delivery giant Grab Holdings Ltd has applied for regulatory approval to acquire the Taiwan operations of Germany-based Delivery Hero SE's Foodpanda in a deal valued at about US$600 million. Grab submitted the filing to the Fair Trade Commission on Friday last week, with the transaction subject to regulatory review and approval, the company said in a statement yesterday. Its independent governance structure would help foster a healthy and competitive market in Taiwan if the deal is approved, Grab said. Grab, which is listed on the NASDAQ, said in the filing that US-based Uber Technologies Inc holds about 13 percent of
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday received government approval to deploy its advanced 3-nanometer (3nm) process at its second fab currently under construction in Japan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a news release. The ministry green-lit the plan for the facility in Kumamoto, which is scheduled to start installing equipment and come online in 2028 with a monthly production capacity of 15,000 12-inch wafers, the ministry said. The Department of Investment Review in June 2024 authorized a US$5.26 billion investment for the facility, slated to manufacture 6- to 12nm chips, significantly less advanced than 3nm process. At a meeting with
Taiwan is open to joining a global liquefied natural gas (LNG) program if one is created, but on the condition that countries provide delivery even in a scenario where there is a conflict with China, an energy department official said yesterday. While Taiwan’s priority is to have enough LNG at home, the nation is open to exploring potential strategic reserves in other countries such as Japan or South Korea, Energy Administration Deputy Director-General Chen Chung-hsien (陳崇憲) said. While the LNG market does not have a global reserve for emergencies like that of oil, the concept has been raised a few times —
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