LG Electronics Inc, the world’s No. 2 television maker, yesterday raised its LCD TV sales target for this year for Taiwan on the expectation that it would sell more 3D LCD TVs in this market.
LG Electronics Taiwan president Choi Bo-hwan said the company aimed to seize a 25 percent share of Taiwan’s LCD TV market this year, higher than the previous 20 percent target the company set earlier this year. The South Korean firm secured an approximate 15 percent share last year by shipments.
To reach the new goal, LG needs to sell at least 250,000 LCD TV units in Taiwan this year, as the overall LCD TV shipments are expected to grow by 10 percent this year from 1 million units last year based on LG’s projections.
About 20 percent of LG’s sales in Taiwan this year would be LCD TVs outfitted with 3D displays, Choi said.
“The Taiwanese market is similar to the South Korean market, as people [in both countries] tend to buy high-technology products,” Choi said. “And LG beat Samsung by taking a 67 percent share of South Korea’s 3D TV market after launching the new-generation 3D TVs earlier this year.”
Choi said the company would benefit from the uptake of 3D TVs this year. In South Korea, the penetration rate of 3D TVs has risen to 25 percent, compared with about 13 percent last year.
A significant drop in price of 3D glasses would be a key factor behind the takeoff of 3D TVs, Choi said.
The price of a pair of LG 3D glasses fell to just one-10th of last year’s price and the weight has been reduced to 16g per pair, he said, adding that no battery recharging would be needed as the company’s new technology allowed the glasses to operate without power consumption.
With an aggressive global sales target, LG was likely to increase purchases of TV panels, such as 65-inch panels — which LG Display does not produce — from Taiwanese LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (友達光電), a person familiar with the matter said.
“The procurement will be larger than three years ago, when LG bought a total of US$1 billion in LCD panels from Taiwanese firms,” said the source, who declined to be named.
Samsung, which also has ambitions in the 3D TV market, said last month it expected 30 or 40 percent of its LCD TVs sold this year would be 3D TVs.
However, Maxwell Chang (張乘維), an analyst with Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業研究所), was more conservative, citing high price tags as a potential obstacle for those TV brands to hit their business targets.
Chang expects a 10 percent penetration rate in Taiwan to be the best-case scenario. Globally, he projected about 20 percent of a total 215 million LCD TVs would be 3D TVs this year.
US sports leagues rushed to get in on the multi-billion US dollar bonanza of legalized betting, but the arrest of an National Basketball Association (NBA) coach and player in two sprawling US federal investigations show the potential cost of partnering with the gambling industry. Portland Trail Blazers coach Chauncey Billups, a former Detroit Pistons star and an NBA Hall of Famer, was arrested for his alleged role in rigged illegal poker games that prosecutors say were tied to Mafia crime families. Miami Heat guard Terry Rozier was charged with manipulating his play for the benefit of bettors and former NBA player and
The DBS Foundation yesterday announced the launch of two flagship programs, “Silver Motion” and “Happier Caregiver, Healthier Seniors,” in partnership with CCILU Ltd, Hondao Senior Citizens’ Welfare Foundation and the Garden of Hope Foundation to help Taiwan face the challenges of a rapidly aging population. The foundation said it would invest S$4.91 million (US$3.8 million) over three years to foster inclusion and resilience in an aging society. “Aging may bring challenges, but it also brings opportunities. With many Asian markets rapidly becoming super-aged, the DBS Foundation is working with a regional ecosystem of like-minded partners across the private, public and people sectors
BREAKTHROUGH TECH: Powertech expects its fan-out PLP system to become mainstream, saying it can offer three-times greater production throughput Chip packaging service provider Powertech Technology Inc (力成科技) plans to more than double its capital expenditures next year to more than NT$40 billion (US$1.31 billion) as demand for its new panel-level packaging (PLP) technology, primarily used in chips for artificial intelligence (AI) applications, has greatly exceeded what it can supply. A significant portion of the budget, about US$1 billion, would be earmarked for fan-out PLP technology, Powertech told investors yesterday. Its heavy investment in fan-out PLP technology over the past 10 years is expected to bear fruit in 2027 after the technology enters volume production, it said, adding that the tech would
YEAR-END BOOST: The holiday shopping season in the US and Europe, combined with rising demand for AI applications, is expected to drive exports to a new high, the NDC said Taiwan’s business climate monitor improved last month, transitioning from steady growth for the first time in five months, as robust global demand for artificial intelligence (AI) products and new iPhone shipments boosted exports and corporate sales, the National Development Council (NDC) said yesterday. The council uses a five-color system to measure the nation’s economic state, with “green” indicating steady growth, “red” suggesting a boom and “blue” reflecting a recession. “Yellow-red” and “yellow-blue” suggest a transition to a stronger or weaker condition. The total score of the monitor’s composite index rose to 35 points from a revised 31 in August, ending a four-month
RSS