Sony and Samsung expected to expand TV-panel procurement from Taiwan

Sony will send procurement representatives to Taiwan soon to place orders for 32-inch TV panels, and the top-two thin film transistor-liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) panel makers on the island, AU Optronics Corp. (AUO) and Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. (CMO), are expected to win Sony's business, EDN said.

At the just-ended 8th Annual DisplaySearch US FPD Conference, held in San Diego, California, U.S.A. on March 21-23, Dr. Hsiung Hui, executive vice president of AUO, said that his company's 37-inch TV-panel shipments in March would outstrip 100,000 units, as more and more first-tier global LCD TV brands adopt AUO's products. In conjunction with the increasing capacity at AUO's new sixth-generation (6G) panel facility, Hsiung said, both AUO's revenue and profits are expected to rise.

Hsiung refused to comment on the companies that have chosen to adopt AUO's 37-inch panels, but industry insiders said that AUO has delivered 37-inch panels to Samsung and Philips. The sources explained that Samsung operates a 7G panel plant, which is able to economically cut 32- and 40-inch panels, while Sharp, LPL, and AUO run 6G facilities.

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