Taiwanese contract makers are expected to increase their LCD TV shipments by 6 percent to 9 percent this quarter from last quarter, reversing a decline in the third quarter amid stronger demand for the year-end shopping season, a local research firm said yesterday.
Shipments of Taiwanese LCD TV makers dropped 5.2 percent in the third quarter, according to a report yesterday from WitsView, an LCD research arm of TrendForce Corp (集邦科技).
Taiwanese makers are forecast to ship a total of 45 million flat-panel TVs this year, making up 22.4 percent of the world’s total shipments this year, TrendForce said.
Their market share is projected to expand to between 27 percent and 28 percent next year, as local companies are expected ship 60 million to 62 million TVs, the Taipei research firm projected.
TPV Technology Ltd (冠捷) is set to remain as the biggest maker by shipping 13.7 million TVs this year. If it is able to take control of the Philips brand, shipments might reach 20 million next year, the report said.
Royal Philips Electronics NV last week said it signed an agreement with TPV to bring its loss-making TV operations into a joint venture, with transactions likely to be closed at the end of the first quarter next year.
TPV will have a 70 percent holding in the joint venture, with Philips holding the remaining 30 percent.
The second and third-largest manufacturers, Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Wistron Corp (緯創), are unlikely to achieve their respective shipment targets of 15 million and 10 million TVs this year because of lower demand from main client Sony Corp.
Instead, WitsView forecast Hon Hai to ship 8.5 million TVs this year and 11 million next year, and Wistron to ship 7.7 million this year and 10 million next year.
The fourth-biggest maker, Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦), which was projected to ship 8 million TVs earlier this year, would only ship 5.8 million this year and 8 million next year, WitsView forecast.
Amtran Technology Co (瑞軒科技), which mainly produces for the US’ Vizio brand, is forecast to ship 3.8 million TVs this year, down from its forecast of 8 million. That is because Vizio sales have been weak in North America, the report added.
Amtran’s shipments are expected to rise to 4.5 million next year, it said.
Going into next year, the rising threat from Chinese competitors, such as Shenzhen MTC Co (兆馳), Shenzhen KTC Technology (康冠) and Teinuro Group Co (神州天樂), coupled with branded clients — including Samsung Electronics Co — preferring to build TVs in-house instead of outsourcing to contract makers, are two key challenges for Taiwanese makers, the report said.
When an apartment comes up for rent in Germany’s big cities, hundreds of prospective tenants often queue down the street to view it, but the acute shortage of affordable housing is getting scant attention ahead of today’s snap general election. “Housing is one of the main problems for people, but nobody talks about it, nobody takes it seriously,” said Andreas Ibel, president of Build Europe, an association representing housing developers. Migration and the sluggish economy top the list of voters’ concerns, but analysts say housing policy fails to break through as returns on investment take time to register, making the
EARLY TALKS: Measures under consideration include convincing allies to match US curbs, further restricting exports of AI chips or GPUs, and blocking Chinese investments US President Donald Trump’s administration is sketching out tougher versions of US semiconductor curbs and pressuring key allies to escalate their restrictions on China’s chip industry, an early indication the new US president plans to expand efforts that began under former US president Joe Biden to limit Beijing’s technological prowess. Trump officials recently met with their Japanese and Dutch counterparts about restricting Tokyo Electron Ltd and ASML Holding NV engineers from maintaining semiconductor gear in China, people familiar with the matter said. The aim, which was also a priority for Biden, is to see key allies match China curbs the US
NOT TO WORRY: Some people are concerned funds might continue moving out of the country, but the central bank said financial account outflows are not unusual in Taiwan Taiwan’s outbound investments hit a new high last year due to investments made by contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) and other major manufacturers to boost global expansion, the central bank said on Thursday. The net increase in outbound investments last year reached a record US$21.05 billion, while the net increase in outbound investments by Taiwanese residents reached a record US$31.98 billion, central bank data showed. Chen Fei-wen (陳斐紋), deputy director of the central bank’s Department of Economic Research, said the increase was largely due to TSMC’s efforts to expand production in the US and Japan. Investments by Vanguard International
STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE: The group is proposing a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, and possibly a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Nissan Motor Co shares jumped after the Financial Times reported that a high-level Japanese group has drawn up plans to seek investment from Elon Musk’s Tesla Inc to aid the struggling automaker. The group believes the electric vehicle (EV) maker is interested in acquiring Nissan’s plants in the US, the newspaper reported, citing people it did not identify. The proposal envisions a consortium of investors, with Tesla as the largest backer, but also includes the possibility of a minority investment by Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) to prevent a full takeover by the Apple supplier, the report said. The group is
RSS