Samsung depends heavily on China, Taiwan panels for TV production

SEOUL, May 24 (Yonhap) -- Samsung Electronics Co. has sharply increased its dependence on Chinese and Taiwanese panel suppliers for its TV production, data showed Tuesday. The ratio of internal supply came to only 25.1 percent in March, while shipments from Chinese and Taiwanese firms accounted for 68.4 percent, according to market researcher IHS and industry figures here. The South Korean tech giant's affiliate Samsung Display Co. provided it with 885,000 panels during the period, when its Taiwanese rival Innolux offered 850,000 panels, or 24.1 percent. Chinese panel suppliers China Star and BOE trailed them with 16.9 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively. Taiwan's AU Optronics took up 11.5 percent, with Japan's Sharp accounting for 6.5 percent. Samsung Electronics purchased 45.5 percent of its total TV panel demand from its group peer in the same month last year. The figure declined to 32.1 percent in January this year and 32.6 percent in February. Samsung officials attributed the heavier reliance on foreign panel makers to a mix of prices and temporary setbacks in panel production lines. "We expect the share to recover once panel production is normalized starting in the second quarter," a Samsung Display official said. The company's local rival LG Display Co. was less hit by foreign panel makers, however. It supplied 70.9 percent of the panels used by LG Electronics Co.'s TV production. lcd@yna.co.kr (END)