(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Second Wave of CRT Price Hikes in Taiwan Expected Soon
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August 18, 1998 (TAIPEI) -- A second wave of price hikes for cathode
ray tubes (CRTs) is on the horizon, most likely starting in October,
Taiwan industry observers said.
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The likelihood of higher prices has caused widespread concern among monitor
makers, which are worrying about higher operating costs and deliberating
measures to cope with such a problem.
It is the price fall last year that paved the way for the current hike.
An oversupply in the industry led South Korean companies to cut prices,
and other manufacturers soon followed suit.
However, the seasonal demand for monitors that started in July pulled
up demand for CRTs as well.
This led to a rebound in price earlier this month, a move that is expected
to make up for the losses makers suffered in the first half of the year.
Taiwan's Chung Hwa Picture Tubes Ltd. and South Korea's Samsung Electronics
Co., Ltd. pioneered the last wave of price reductions.
Samsung and Philips Taiwan Ltd. reportedly are provoking this second
wave, and October is the most likely time for it to begin.
Executives from Chuntex Electronic Co., Ltd., one of Taiwan's leading
monitor makers, said their firm plans to raise the price of their own-brand
products in September to reflect higher costs.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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