Samsung Electronics Co yesterday said it planned to outsource more manufacturing jobs to Taiwanese companies to reduce costs, a company executive said.
“Samsung plans to offer more TVs with affordable prices this year,” said Sean Ying (應少谷), a senior director of the Taiwanese unit of the world’s biggest TV maker. “Making TVs in Taiwan will eliminate import tariffs on TVs.”
The company began farming out production to local TV makers last year and some of its 40-inch TVs and smaller models were assembled by Taiwanese firms, Ying said.
This year, Samsung plans to expand its outsourcing list to TVs with screens as big as 65 inches, Ying said. However, he declined to name the company’s local partners.
Yin said the company has not set a timetable to launch ultra-high-resolution, or 4K2K, flat-panel TVs in Taiwan. Samsung only sells 4K2K TV sets in selected markets worldwide, he said.
It has no plans to sell OLED TVs in Taiwan any time soon, he added.
Market Intelligence & Consulting Institute (MIC, 產業情報研究所) yesterday said Taiwanese TV makers could see revenue grow 30 percent to US$8 billion in the second half from US$6.16 billion in the first half because of seasonal demand.
“The growth is supported by increase in orders from customers, including North American brand Vizio, Europe’s Philips and China’s Haier (海爾), rather than from Japanese TV vendors,” MIC analyst Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) said.
LCD TV shipments from Taiwanese firms are expected to grow 4 percent to 39.18 million units this year, from 37.65 million units last year, she said.
Nissan Motor Co has agreed to sell its global headquarters in Yokohama for ¥97 billion (US$630 million) to a group sponsored by Taiwanese autoparts maker Minth Group (敏實集團), as the struggling automaker seeks to shore up its financial position. The acquisition is led by a special purchase company managed by KJR Management Ltd, a Japanese real-estate unit of private equity giant KKR & Co, people familiar with the matter said. KJR said it would act as asset manager together with Mizuho Real Estate Management Co. Nissan is undergoing a broad cost-cutting campaign by eliminating jobs and shuttering plants as it grapples
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