(Nikkei BP Group)
(No.1 High-Tech News Site in Japanese)
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| Samsung-Daewoo Seen as Threat to Taiwan Monitor Makers
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March 5, 1999 (TAIPEI) -- Makers of PC monitors in Taiwan are facing
pressure from a recent agreement covering monitors between Samsung Electronics
Co., Ltd. and Daewoo Electronics.
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Daewoo Electronics is a division of the Daewoo Group.
The agreement will enable Samsung, already the world's largest maker
of computer monitors, to raise its annual output to nearly 15 million
units. Moreover, with its liquid crystal display (LCD) technology and
upstream sources of picture tubes, Samsung is becoming a major competitive
threat to Taiwan-based companies.
Korea is Taiwan's leading rival in the global computer monitor market.
Samsung reported an output of 9.6 million units in 1998, and the figure
is expected to grow by around 10 percent this year.
Daewoo produces 2 million to 3 million computer monitors a year, lagging
behind local companies including Acer Peripherals Inc. and Lite-on Technology
Corp.
Following the Samsung-Daewoo agreement on a business swap -- in which
Daewoo will acquire Samsung's auto unit in exchange for transferring
its electronics unit to Samsung -- the monitor production under the
Samsung group is expected grow. It will approach 15 million units this
year.
An executive at Royal Information Electronics Co., Ltd. said that small-scale
companies in Taiwan will be hit harder by the Samsung-Daewoo alliance.
Under pressure from big manufacturers, the smaller companies must develop
niche markets, he said. Otherwise, they will likely be forced into mergers.
An executive at the monitor department of ADI Corp. also noted that the
Samsung-Daewoo alliance will generate greater pressure on local companies.
Taiwan-based companies must develop products with greater ranges of
applications to ensure their long-term success, he said.
However, he also noted that some clients of Samsung and Daewoo may try
to diversify their production sources by shifting some orders to manufacturers
based in Taiwan.
(Commercial Times, Taiwan)
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