Taiwanese LCD-panel makers are expected to lose 33 percent of market share next year because they have lagged behind their South Korean rivals in building cost-efficient capacity, a Taipei-based market researcher forecast yesterday.
The rise of Chinese LCD panel makers is also eroding market share among Taiwanese companies, which are catching up to major players in mass producing panels at advanced factories, Topology Research Institute’s (拓墣產業研究所) flat-panel analyst Corwin Lee (李秋緯) told a technology forum yesterday.
Last year, Taiwanese companies seized a 34 percent share of the global LCD market.
“Local firms slowed capacity expansion at new-generation plants during the financial crisis, while South Korean rivals doubled capacity,” Lee said.
In the second half next year, Taiwanese firms, including AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) and Chimei Innlux Corp (奇美電子), are expected to build 130,000 sheets and 80,000 sheets per month at their 8.5--generation factories, Lee said. South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co and LG Display Corp are expected to build 350,000 sheets and 295,000 sheets, respectively, he said.
Lower capacity could also mean fewer shipments. Next year, Taiwanese firms are expected to ship US$29.3 billion in LCD panels, less than 33 percent of the overall US$89.07 billion global LCD market, Lee said. Local companies will focus on shipping lower-margin panels because they will be unable to compete with South Korean rivals in high-margin models due to higher costs, Lee said.
Demand for TV and PC panels is expected to grow by 10 percent year-on-year to 689 million units next year as global shipments of LCD TVs grows by just 13 percent, rather than the 20 to 30 percent as over the past few years, he said.
This year, demand for LCD panels will reach 627 million units, according to Lee’s projection.
Because growth is slowing, Lee expects global panel makers to spend less on capacity expansion — US$13.02 billion in 2012, down 6.4 percent from US$13.91 billion next year — after they complete their latest expansion plans in new advanced factories.
Separately, the global information and communications technology (ICT) industry will see slower growth next year because of a slowing economy and high unemployment rates in the US and Europe, the research institute said.
The global ICT industry is likely to grow 14.7 percent this year because of robust economic recovery, said Topology vice president Simon Yang (楊勝帆), revising downward his earlier prediction of 15.6 percent.
Next year, worldwide growth for the industry is expected to decline to 9.2 percent as US and EU efforts to slash budgets and reduce debt slows the rate of economic recovery, Yang said at the same forum yesterday, also citing a high jobless rate as a concern.
Emerging nations and developing countries that enjoy relatively stable economic growth will become the main driving force behind ICT expansion next year, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
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