TAIWANESE LCD makers are having to further cut the price of their panels in order to clear out their warehouses. The price of a 15-inch panel is set to fall by around $10, local sources suggest, as the firms who, according to analysts, "have been churning out panels like there's no tomorrow," struggle to shift them.
Korean panel maker Samsung, however, is fighting the trend and says it may raise the prices of its own panels by a similar $10 margin. Samsung will seek to charge around $220 for a 15-inch panel, while a trip to Taiwan sould now save a buyer around $20 a unit.
Taiwanese manufacturers have maintained high production levels despite weakening demand for panels over the latter half of this year, research firm Meko told us recently. October is usually a good month for panel sales, as Samsung points out and the Korean giant is refusing to cut its prices during the month A spokeman for Samsung, Harry Chao, told the Taipei Times: "We expect market demand to rebound in the fourth quarter, so there is no need to cut prices further."
Paring down to the $200 mark won't suit Samsung. Panel prices were at $265 earlier in the year, and Samsung has invested heavily in a fifth-generation panel facility, which it has to pay for
News source: The Inquirer
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