In January Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp inked a mammoth $1.22 billion equivalent loan to finance the construction of its 5.5 generation plant. A few short months later and the three big Taiwanese thin film transistor liquid crystal display TFT-LCD manufacturers are looking to tap the market again.
This time the proceeds will be used to finance sixth generation fabrication plants as accelerating demand for notebooks and LCD TVs has increased the need for more flat screen panels. DisplaySearch, an industry research firm, has predicted that sales of LCD monitors are set to overtake their traditional cathode ray tube CRT counterparts in the second quarter of this year.
The firm...
