Samsung Electronics has raised its 2005 forecast for the LCD TV panel industry from 20 million panels to 22 million panels, due to strong demand in the 30- to 40-inch segments, the Chinese-language Economic Daily News (EDN) quoted Samsung as stating during a recent forum held by Credit Lyonnais Securities Asia (CLSA).
This is the third time the company has raised its LCD TV panel industry forecast for the year, with the original forecast being for 16 million panels. During its second-quarter investors conference, when Samsung upped its forecast from 18 million units to 20 million, the panel maker attributed strong shipments to the combination of new LCD TV models hitting the market and falling LCD TV prices.
TV panel prices have continued to fall in the third quarter and the trend will continue into the fourth quarter, Woosik Chu, senior vice president of investor relations of Samsung, was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying.
At the CLSA forum, Samsung said TV panel demand will rise to 35 million next year, up 59% from this year, the paper quoted the company as saying. The 30-inch and larger TV panel segment will account for more than half of the LCD TV panels shipped next year, up from 37% this year, according to EDN.
To meet strong LCD TV demand, Chu was quoted by the Wall Street Journal as saying that the investment spent on Samsung at its second seventh-generation (7G) TFT LCD plant will be 50% more than that was invested in the first plant. According to EE Times, Samsung has decided to invest an additional US$1.7 billion into the second plant, with over US$2.3 billion already invested in the plant.
The second 7G plant will process 45,000 1,870×2,200mm glass substrates per month, with each substrate being able to be cut into eight 40-inch TV panels or six 46-inch TV panels, sources said in a June 30 article.
Article translated by Carrie Yu and edited by Carrie Yu
