Fujitsu Hitachi Display Ltd, the world's biggest maker of plasma display panels for televisions, is expanding production as early as next year, the company said.
Fujitsu Hitachi will spend ?75 billion (US$669 million) on a new factory in Miyazaki, southern Japan, which will have a monthly capacity of 150,000 panels, the Kanagawa, Japan-based company said in statement.
Fujitsu Hitachi and rivals such as Pioneer Corp are expanding capacity to keep pace with growing demand for flat-panel displays. Sales of plasma displays will more than double to US$5.8 billion in 2006 from US$2.7 billion this year, according to market researcher DisplaySearch.
Pioneer is set to become the world's second-largest maker of plasma displays after it buys NEC Corp's business later this year. Tokyo-based Pioneer last month sold ?60 billion of convertible bonds to help pay for the business.
Fujitsu Ltd and Hitachi Ltd each own a 50 percent stake in Fujitsu Hitachi.
Separately, Samsung Electronics Co, the world's second-biggest semiconductor maker, said it will jointly spend 2.1 trillion won (US$1.8 billion) with Sony Corp to build liquid crystal displays for televisions and computer screens.
Samsung Electronics will hold a majority stake in the venture, called S-LCD Corp, by having two more shares than Sony, Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung Electronics said in a regulatory filing.
Aiming to become the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays, or LCDs, the venture involves the construction of a so-called seventh-generation plant able cut display panels more efficiently, the statement said.
As consumers replace bulky glass-tube TVs and monitors for flat-panel models, the market for LCDs measuring more than 10 inches diagonally will grow 23 percent annually through 2007 to US$48.8 billion, according to researcher DisplaySearch.
Tokyo-based Sony, the world's second-biggest consumer electronics maker after Matsushita Electric Industrial Co, said in October it would revamp its television business by entering a venture with Samsung, the world's largest maker of liquid crystal displays.
INVESTIGATION: The case is the latest instance of a DPP figure being implicated in an espionage network accused of allegedly leaking information to Chinese intelligence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) member Ho Jen-chieh (何仁傑) was detained and held incommunicado yesterday on suspicion of spying for China during his tenure as assistant to then-minister of foreign affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮). The Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said Ho was implicated during its investigation into alleged spying activities by former Presidential Office consultant Wu Shang-yu (吳尚雨). Prosecutors said there is reason to believe Ho breached the National Security Act (國家安全法) by leaking classified Ministry of Foreign Affairs information to Chinese intelligence. Following interrogation, prosecutors petitioned the Taipei District Court to detain Ho, citing concerns over potential collusion or tampering of evidence. The
‘FORM OF PROTEST’: The German Institute Taipei said it was ‘shocked’ to see Nazi symbolism used in connection with political aims as it condemned the incident Sung Chien-liang (宋建樑), who led efforts to recall Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lee Kun-cheng (李坤城), was released on bail of NT$80,000 yesterday amid an outcry over a Nazi armband he wore to questioning the night before. Sung arrived at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office for questioning in a recall petition forgery case on Tuesday night wearing a red armband bearing a swastika, carrying a copy of Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf and giving a Nazi salute. Sung left the building at 1:15am without the armband and apparently covering the book with a coat. This is a serious international scandal and Chinese
Seventy percent of middle and elementary schools now conduct English classes entirely in English, the Ministry of Education said, as it encourages schools nationwide to adopt this practice Minister of Education (MOE) Cheng Ying-yao (鄭英耀) is scheduled to present a report on the government’s bilingual education policy to the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee today. The report would outline strategies aimed at expanding access to education, reducing regional disparities and improving talent cultivation. Implementation of bilingual education policies has varied across local governments, occasionally drawing public criticism. For example, some schools have required teachers of non-English subjects to pass English proficiency
TRADE: The premier pledged safeguards on ‘Made in Taiwan’ labeling, anti-dumping measures and stricter export controls to strengthen its position in trade talks Products labeled “made in Taiwan” must be genuinely made in Taiwan, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday, vowing to enforce strict safeguards against “origin laundering” and initiate anti-dumping investigations to prevent China dumping its products in Taiwan. Cho made the remarks in a discussion session with representatives from industries in Kaohsiung. In response to the US government’s recent announcement of “reciprocal” tariffs on its trading partners, President William Lai (賴清德) and Cho last week began a series of consultations with industry leaders nationwide to gather feedback and address concerns. Taiwanese and US officials held a videoconference on Friday evening to discuss the
RSS