(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Taiwan Monitor Makers to Buy Key Components from Korea
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January 19, 1999 (TAIPEI) -- The short supply of cathode-ray tubes (CRTs)
and liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels is hampering shipments from
Taiwan's monitor makers and forcing them to look abroad for components.
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At the same time, the price of the 15-in. CRTs has been hiked twice this
year.
Since the cost of the 15-in. CRT is approaching that of the 17-in. CRT,
many monitor makers have decided to focus production on 17-in. monitors,
which have a larger profit margin.
This move has increased demand for 17-in. CRTs, contributing to their
short supply in Taiwan.
To secure a stable supply of key components so they can deliver their
goods on time, local monitor makers have begun to contact Japanese and
Korean manufacturers of CRTs and LCDs for procurement.
Many local monitor companies are especially interested in Korean CRTs,
which are US$5-7 cheaper per unit than the Japanese products.
Chuntex Electronic Co., Ltd. has increased its procurement from Korea
to 30 percent of its total CRT purchases. Acer Peripherals Inc. currently
purchases about 10-15 percent of its CRTs from Korea, and it plans to
increase the amount in the future.
TFT-LCD monitor makers also are soliciting Korean producers for a cheap
and stable supply of TFT-LCD panels.
Since the quality of Korean LCD panels has caught up with that of Japanese
products, Korea has become a preferred source for procurement among
local LCD monitor makers.
Royal Information Electronics Co., Ltd., which previously purchased most
of its LCD panels from Japan's NEC Corp. and Fujitsu Ltd., decided to
add a Korean LCD panel supplier in order to ensure a stable supply.
Acer Peripherals also has been seeking new suppliers, since its present
partners, Fujitsu and Sharp Corp., can meet only 50 percent of its demand.
Chuntex said that while it will not begin volume production of LCD monitors
until this spring, its search for reliable LCD panel suppliers already
has begun. Chuntex plans to look for LCD panel suppliers among its CRT
procurement sources, including Korean companies, according to the company's
vice general manager Hsu Ching-hui.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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