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Nation plays catch-up on LCD panels |
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From：CEF |
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CHINA should speed up building advanced LCD
panel factories to catch up with international
rivals, industry officials said during a forum in
Shanghai yesterday.
Capacity of manufacturing advanced LCD (liquid
crystal display) panels, used to make large-screen
TVs, can meet 50 percent of the demand globally,
which leaves opportunity for Chinese firms, said Gu
Zhihua, director of the FPD (flat panel display)
research center at Fudan University.
"There is no time for us to wait and see,
otherwise we will completely lose the opportunity.
The government should strengthen support for the
sector," Gu said during China FPD Manufacturing
Forum 2007, which was held during the China
Electronics Fair.
Five years from now, the capacity to make large
LCD panels - mainly met by Japanese and South Korean
firms - will meet 75 percent of the demand, so
Chinese firms should act now, according to Gu.
China's three top LCD panel makers SVA, BOE and
IVO announced early this year they would consolidate
the business and co-invest to build advanced LCD
panel lines, scheduled to finish in the middle of
this year. However, the schedule has been delayed
twice, and the firms haven't announced further
details.
Chinese firms can only produce so-called
fifth-generation LCD panel manufacturing lines,
three to five generations behind international
rivals like Samsung and Sharp. Therefore, Chinese TV
makers have to import panels to meet the market
demand.
"Large LCD panels are in shortage and the
situation will continue in the first half of 2008,"
Sun Xinguo, the research director of China Video
Industry Association, said during the forum.
China sold a total of 21.14 million FPD TVs, more
than 90 percent being LCD TVs, in the first nine
months, a 47.3-percent growth year on year,
according to Sun who cited figures from the Ministry
of Information Industry.
Source:Shanghai Daily
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