Two Chinese procurement delegations, formed by
TV makers and telecoms, are scheduled to visit Taiwan in June, according to
reports by Taiwanese media. The TV maker delegation, consisting of Konka, Hisense,
Skyworth, TCL, SVA, Xoceco, and Panda Electronics, will meet Taiwanese LCD
(Liquid Crystal Display) panel suppliers on June 1 in Taipei, according to an Economic
Daily News report on May 13. It is reported that via collective purchase, the
Chinese TV makers seek to place orders for lower-priced LCD panels from AUO and
CMO. The two Taiwanese LCD panel makers combined account for more than 50% of overall
panel supply for Chinese flat-panel TV makers. In addition to lowering panel
prices via collective purchase, the Chinese TV makers expect to form long-term
panel supply partnerships and further technological collaborations with
Taiwanese LCD panel makers.
Meanwhile, starting on June 3, there will be a
two-day procurement meeting between Chinese telecom operators and equipment
providers and Taiwanese mobile device, notebook PC, and communications
equipment makers, Taiwan's Commercial Times reported on May 13. According to
the Commercial Times report, the meeting is organized by Taiwan's Ministry of
Economic Affairs. The Chinese delegation will consist of representatives from China
Mobile, China Unicom, China Telecom, Datang Telecom Technology, ZTE, and Huawei
Technologies. It is currently under negotiation as to whether there will be
delegates from China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.
Officials from Taiwanese telecom operators including Chunghwa Telecom, Far
EasTone Telecommunications, Taiwan Mobile, and Vibo Telecom, as well as
representatives from Taiwanese equipment vendors such as MediaTek, VIA Technologies,
HTC, Acer, Asustek Computer, ZyXEL Communications, Gemtek Technology, and D-Link,
are expected to attend this meeting. It is estimated that the amount of
procurement orders for communications products to placed by the Chinese
delegation will range from NT$30 billion (US$911.9 million; US$1=NT$32.9) to
NT$40 billion (US$1.2 billion).