| Prices of LCD TVs seen to tumble 70% |
SHANGHAI, Mar. 15 -- Prices of LCD TV sets of 40 inches and above will drop by up to 70 percent later this year in China as top LCD panel makers have upgraded output lines to boost shipments and improve technologies to cut costs, industry officials said during a local FPD forum which ended yesterday.
The drop in prices will hasten the popularity of the new technology TV in China, which will gradually replace the traditional TVs, industry insiders said.
The 40-inch LCD (liquid crystal display) panels, the popular 42-inch and 46-inch panels will cost one-third of the current price in 2008. Meanwhile, the average prices of LCD panels of 30 inches and above will drop by half then, according to Liu Ruilin, director of China Optics and Optoelectronics Manufactures Associations LCD Division.
Prices for large-sized LCD panels used for televisions are seen declining precipitously in 2007. For example, the price of a 32-inch LCD TV panel is expected to fall by 17 percent in the first half of 2007 compared to the fourth quarter of 2006, said iSuppli Corp, a US-based research firm.
On average, LCD panel prices will drop 40 to 70 percent within a year as panel makers, including Sharp, Samsung, LG Philips and AUO, start producing the larger panels in their new plants, according to Liu, who is also the president of Shenzhen Tianma Microelectronics Co.
Makers of LCD TV sets depend highly on the upstream LCD panel makers because the costs of a LCD panel often account for 80 percent of a LCD TV price, industry officials said during the forum.
"Customers are waiting for the larger size (LCD TVs) with low prices in 2007 and TV replacement will rise next year," said Sun Sheng, China manager of AKT America Inc, which provides panel making equipment.
The world's top three panel makers - Samsung, LG Philips and AUO - have built advanced panel plants, which allow them to cut the larger LCD panels in a more economical way, according to Sun.
Chinese consumers like the "new technology" TVs and the price is the only barrier now.
The drop in prices and the Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing, which will encourage sport fans to upgrade their TV sets, will boost the LCD TV market, according to iSuppli.
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