To pave the way for Taiwan to develop an integrated LCD (liquid crystal display) industry, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will invite leading international LCD panel manufacturers to visit Ta…
To pave the way for Taiwan to develop an integrated LCD (liquid crystal display) industry, the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) will invite leading international LCD panel manufacturers to visit Taiwan by attending a seminar regarding the development of key components in this regard, MOEA officials said. MOEA will invite representatives from the US-based Texas Instruments (TI) and Corning, Japan-based Nitto Denko, DNP, and Mitsubishi Research Institute to attend a seminar sponsored by MOEA in Taipei on 18 January. Relevant international suppliers in driving ICs, optoelectronics glass substrates, color filters, and polarizers will also particpate in the seminar. Wang Ya-kang, director general of the Industrial Development Bureau (IDB) under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, will deliver a keynote speech. Tony Tsai, LCD driver department chief of TI, will also address the topic of the latest in LCD driver development in the global market. Meanwhile, Robert L. Yard, vice president of Corning, will analyse the market trends for glass substrates and the latest technology. DNP, a major printing house in Japan, will also dispatch its president to deliver a speech on colour filter development. Yasuo Fujimura, optoelectronics department of Nitto Denki, will discuss the latest technology of polarizers in the 21st century. Representatives from Mitsubishi Research Institute will introduce the next generation of FPD technologies. MOEA will also report on the latest LCD panel development in Taiwan. Since last year, a total of six local manufacturers have raised NT$ 100 billion to venture into the development of large-sized TFT-LCD (thin film transistor-liquid crystal displays), thus creating huge market opportunities for key upstream components and bit parts. Based on a survey by the government-funded Opto-Electronics & Systems Laboratories (OESL) under the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), LCD components have accounted for about 63% of the total production value of the LCD industry. It is expected that the production value of relevant raw materials and chemical products will total NT$ 80 billion in 2000. Such production value will double, reaching NT$ 160 billion in 2002 if most local TFT-LCD manufacturers conduct the mass production of their products as scheduled.