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Korea Times(08-10-2004)
By Kim Tae-gyu
Staff reporter




South Korea's liquid crystal display (LCD) makers including Samsung Electronics and played down concerns over some Japanese companies' attempt to expand their market share by teaming up.

Japanese media last week reported Hitachi, Matsushita Electric Industrial and Toshiba will join hands to invest $895 million for a sixth-generation (6G) LCD line, which is scheduled for operation in 2006.

But Samsung and other local LCD makers said they would extend the gap over Japanese players before 2006 by retaining far more advanced 7G or 8G production lines.

``The tie-up is the Japanese firms' desperate attempt to survive in the market and they will not pose any serious threat to us in the foreseeable future, considering their small investment volume,'' a Samsung spokesman said.

He said the envisaged investment is just a third of the average 7G or 8G line construction cost, which amounts to roughly 3 trillion won ($2.59 billion).

Samsung, which last month launched a 50-50 joint venture S-LCD with Japanese stalwart Sony, plans to operate its 7G line from next year and an 8G production facility starting in 2006.

Another Samsung official also showed a similar response, citing the Japanese firms' small market share.

``Currently Japan is lagging far behind in the global LCD market and the three firms are not leading companies even in Japan,'' a Samsung insider said on the condition of anonymity.

According to display market researcher DisplaySearch, the three Japanese firms mentioned above accounted for just 5.4 percent of the overall LCD market during the first half of this year.

Samsung led the pack with a 22.1 percent market share ahead of LG.Philips LCD's 20.7 percent. A pair of Taiwanese players followed at a distant third and fourth.

Seoul analysts also echoed such claims, saying overblown concerns regarding the new Japanese team's repercussion are just mistaken.

``The three firms' alliance would have little impact in the market. They teamed up just to keep their LCD businesses afloat in preparation for a possible LCD shortage in the future,'' Dongwon Securities analyst Michael Min said.



voc200@koreatimes.co.kr