Taiwanese TFT-LCD suppliers expected to build small and medium-sized panels with 3.5th-G facilities

Taipei, Dec. 29, 2003 (CENS)--Thriving demand for small and medium-sized panels is expected to inspire Taiwanese TFT-LCD (thin-film transistor liquid-crystal display) suppliers to set aside capacity of their sub 3.5th-generation facilities for making the panels next year.

Prime View International Co. plans to use its sub 3.5th-generation capacities to make small and medium-sized panels next year to meet the excessive demand, which has strained its 2.5th-generation lines even though its output has been boosted to 40,000 panels a month from 37,000 panels. It will migrate production of big panels to fifth-generation lines from 3.5th-generation lines.

Currently, the company's small and medium-sized panels range from 1.8-inch to seven inch products. Its seven-inch panels are mostly for car uses. For the company, the most economical output for its 2.5th-generation TFT-LCD facilities is cutting eight panels on each glass substrate. Small and medium-sized panels now bring the company a profit margin of over 20%, as much as the margin its lines for big-sized panels has posted.

The company estimated burgeoning demand to push up earnings to an unexpected level NT$560 million (US$16 million at US$1:NT$34) this year from the previous estimate of NT$450 million (US$13 million).

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. will earmark half of its 3.5th-generation capacity for making small and medium-sized panels next year, leaving the other half for building 14.1-inch panels for notebook computers, once it is boosted to 65,000 panels a month. Nevertheless, the company leans toward teaming up with downstream suppliers on back-end process for small and medium-sized panels as the process is complicate.

Chunghwa Picture Tube Co., Ltd. Plans to shift its third-generation lines to produce small and medium-sized panels next year, with wares for seven-inch DVD machines to be major products. For the company's third-generation facility, the most economical output is cutting 20 panels on a glass substrate. The company plans to boost output of its seven-inch panels to one million next quarter from current 1,000 panels a month.