Market Intelligence Center (MIC,
Taipei-based MIC joined Austin, Texas-based DisplaySearch and local major flat-panel makers in forecasting a bullish outlook for the liquid-crystal-display (LCD) industry next year.
But the robust outlook did not help local LCD panel stocks yesterday. Shares of the nation's two biggest flat panel makers, AU Optronics Corp (
Flat screen demand -- mostly screens used in mainstay 15-inch notebook computers -- is expected to outpace supply by 11 percent to 16 percent in the second half of next year extending this year's severe shortage, MIC analyst Charles Chou (
"Global LCD panel makers put off their new next-generation plant construction plans because of massive investment and a high technological barrier. This will slow the overall capacity growth rate," Chou said.
Output of the world's LCD panel makers, including LG Philips LCD Co and AU Optronics, is expected to increase nearly 18 percent year-on-year next year, compared to the annual growth of 36.9 percent this year and 63.8 percent last year, MIC said.
Demand for larger computer and TV screens was on the rise, however, although the growth of PC unit shipments were slowing, Chou said.
Panel makers have also allocated more capacity to make small and-medium sized LCD panels in order to meet strong demand for screens used in digital frames and consumer electronics such as DVD players, he said.
The demand for small and medium-sized LCD panels for mobile phones and portable DVD players is expected to rise 20 percent to 60 million units next year from 50 million this year, MIC analyst Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) said.
"Supply may not be able to match demand next year, if mobile phone growth in China and digital frames is sustained. Every company is trying to locate sufficient panel supplies as quickly as they can," Hsieh said.
DECOUPLING? In a sign of deeper US-China technology decoupling, Apple has held initial talks about using Baidu’s generative AI technology in its iPhones, the Wall Street Journal said China has introduced guidelines to phase out US microprocessors from Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) from government PCs and servers, the Financial Times reported yesterday. The procurement guidance also seeks to sideline Microsoft Corp’s Windows operating system and foreign-made database software in favor of domestic options, the report said. Chinese officials have begun following the guidelines, which were unveiled in December last year, the report said. They order government agencies above the township level to include criteria requiring “safe and reliable” processors and operating systems when making purchases, the newspaper said. The US has been aiming to boost domestic semiconductor
Nvidia Corp earned its US$2.2 trillion market cap by producing artificial intelligence (AI) chips that have become the lifeblood powering the new era of generative AI developers from start-ups to Microsoft Corp, OpenAI and Google parent Alphabet Inc. Almost as important to its hardware is the company’s nearly 20 years’ worth of computer code, which helps make competition with the company nearly impossible. More than 4 million global developers rely on Nvidia’s CUDA software platform to build AI and other apps. Now a coalition of tech companies that includes Qualcomm Inc, Google and Intel Corp plans to loosen Nvidia’s chokehold by going
ENERGY IMPACT: The electricity rate hike is expected to add about NT$4 billion to TSMC’s electricity bill a year and cut its annual earnings per share by about NT$0.154 Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) has left its long-term gross margin target unchanged despite the government deciding on Friday to raise electricity rates. One of the heaviest power consuming manufacturers in Taiwan, TSMC said it always respects the government’s energy policy and would continue to operate its fabs by making efforts in energy conservation. The chipmaker said it has left a long-term goal of more than 53 percent in gross margin unchanged. The Ministry of Economic Affairs concluded a power rate evaluation meeting on Friday, announcing electricity tariffs would go up by 11 percent on average to about NT$3.4518 per kilowatt-hour (kWh)
OPENING ADDRESS: The CEO is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing and artificial intelligence at the trade show’s opening on June 3, TAITRA said Advanced Micro Devices Inc (AMD) chairperson and chief executive officer Lisa Su (蘇姿丰) is to deliver the opening keynote speech at Computex Taipei this year, the event’s organizer said in a statement yesterday. Su is to give a speech on the future of high-performance computing (HPC) in the artificial intelligence (AI) era to open Computex, one of the world’s largest computer and technology trade events, at 9:30am on June 3, the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) said. Su is to explore how AMD and the company’s strategic technology partners are pushing the limits of AI and HPC, from data centers to