Sampo to export 600 to 1,000 50-inch plasma TVs in Q2

Taipei, May 9, 2003 (CENS)--Sampo Corp. said yesterday that its exports of 50-inch plasma TVs would stand at between 600 and 1,000 units in the second quarter of the year, paving the way for an scale of economy in production.

The price of Sampo's 50-inch plasma TVs is set at NT$299,000 per unit, about NT$100,000 cheaper than imported models from South Korea and about NT$200,000 cheaper than Japanese products.

As the largest plasma TV maker in Taiwan, Sampo exported over 20,000 units in the first four months. Its domestic sales exceeded 1,000 units at the same time.

Sampo is in a position to offer 42-inch VGA and XGA plasma TVs as well as 50-inch XGA models. Featuring high resolution, the XGA level serve as the mainstay product in the market for the moment.

Executives at Sampo said that it would export up to 100,000 plasma TVs in the world market in 2003, and record sales of 3,000 units in the local market. The firm expects to rank as one of the world's top five makers in the line this year.

Market source said that 50-inch plasma TVs have now become the favorite of high-end image and video consumers. Take the 50-inch XGA level for example, the price of LG of South Korea stands at NT$399,000 per unit, compared with NT$499,000 per unit from both Matsushita and Pioneer of Japan.

The same level plasma TVs from Toshiba and Fujitsu is set at the price of about NT$469,000 per unit in the market.