AUO yesterday held a New Year's press conference, and Chairman and CEO Paul SL Peng stated that there is still room for television panel prices to rise, and demand for 65-inch and above television panels is still tight. He estimates that the global market scope for 65-inch televisions will surpass 10 million units. To this end, AUO will begin the second phase of expansion of their 8.5 generation production lines specializing in the 65-inch and above high-end television market.

AUO's capital spending for this year will increase from last year's NT$46 billion to NT$55 billion, NT$10 billion to NT$15 billion of which will be spent on expanding the second phase of their 8.5 generation production lines.

AUO stated that there has been a recent phenomena of Chinese television market stocks performing highly; however, the inventory reserves predominantly consist of 32-inch and 40-inch mid-sized television panels. Therefore, the current demand for large-sized televisions panels, such as 65-inch and 75-inch panels, is still considerably strong.

In accordance with AUO's plans, the introduction of 8.5 generation line panel production capacity for 25,000 to 30,000 units will begin in the second half of next year.

(TR. Phil Sweeney)