Samsung, LG to face Chinese challenge in TV market: analysts

South Korean display and TV producers, including Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which maintain a firm grip on the global market, will face daunting challenges from Chinese rivals in the coming years, according to market analysts. 

“Chinese panel manufacturers are making aggressive investments including building new factories. A competitive edge built in the Chinese panel industry will also boost the Chinese TV businesses,” said Jusy Hong, principal analyst of market research institute IHS Technology, at the IHS Display Analyst Conference 2014 in Seoul Thursday. 

Samsung Electronics’ ultrahigh-definition TVs displayed at a Best Buy store in the U.S. Samsung Electronics

“Basking in price competitiveness by using display panels produced by local partners including CSOT and BOE, Chinese TV makers TCL, Hisense, and Skyworth will increase their global presence,” he said. 

However, Korean powerhouses Samsung and LG will maintain their leadership for the next three years, he said, as many statistics indicate they are formidable leaders in the market. 

The global market share of the two Korean TV makers has increased from 30 percent in 2009 to 38 percent in the first half of this year, topping the global TV market share list, while that of Japanese counterparts dropped from 34 percent to 20 percent during the same period, according to the research firm.

Chinese TV vendors grabbed a 20 percent market share in the first half of this year. 

Japanese TV makers including Sony, meanwhile, were expected to face more problems. 

Sony is rumored to be considering whether to close its TV business and sell it to a Chinese company, though the company has officially denied speculations on the issue.

Toshiba has sold its LCD TV assembly lines in Poland and Mexico to Taiwanese Compal Electronics, while Sharp is expected to close its Polish TV factory.

Hong expected ultrahigh-definition TVs to rule the market for a while longer until new technologies such as wide color gamut and quantum-dot displays are commercialized in earnest around 2020.

Around 15.2 million UHD TV units are expected to be shipped worldwide by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, IHS Technology cited touchscreens and fingerprint sensors as the tech buzzwords for next year. 

“As Apple’s online payment system Apple Pay, utilizing near-field communication technology and a fingerprint sensor, is now stirring the mobile industry, more smartphone vendors will adopt the fingerprint sensors in their devices to beef up security in online payment systems,” said Ricky Park, a director of IHS Technology. 

He added that Apple’s iPhone 6 would likely surpass a market sales projection of 180 million to 195 million units, securing more than a 15 percent market share in the global smartphone market. 

By Kim Young-won
(wone0102@heraldcorp.com)

BOK ups push for stalled Korea-China FTA talks

The Korea-China Free Trade Agreement will open a new chapter in the economic cooperation of the two countries, Bank of Korea Gov. Lee Ju-yeol said Friday in an effort to inject momentum into the negotiations.

He also demanded the two sides place more focus on bolstering their financial ties, in addition to the already-strong trade partnership.

“Should the Korea-China FTA be concluded, (the economies of both countries) will be able to leap further,” Lee said at the 2014 China Forum hosted by local daily Hankook Ilbo.

His comments came as the bilateral free trade talks have once again hit a stalemate.

South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick and Chinese Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheung met Thursday for the 14th round of negotiations. Their talks, however, remained in deadlock as of Friday morning.

The two counterparts will continue to talk over the weekend, aiming at reaching a reasonable deal before the imminent regional summit, according to officials from the Korean Embassy in China.

The main bone of contention was over tariff cuts, with Korea requesting a wider range of cuts on industrial products. China, on the other hand, is making similar demands on agricultural, fisheries and livestock goods.

But a greater concern for the BOK chief appeared to be reinforcing the relatively weak financial ties between the two countries.

“Since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992, their bilateral trade volume has soared 55-fold,” Lee said. “Despite this, there is still a low level of financial interaction.” 

He called for the current financial policy conditions to meet market realities as quickly as possible via the FTA.

He also stressed the importance of the recently activated policies to promote the circulation of the Chinese renmibi in the domestic market.

“China has already become the world’s second-largest economic power and will soon rise from a dependent variable to an independent one,” Lee said. “This transition will bring both opportunities and challenges to Korea.” 

By Bae Hyun-jung (tellme@heraldcorp.com)

Sewol bill should be starting point for finding truth: religious circle

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(Globalpost/GlobalPost)

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SEOUL, Nov. 3 (Yonhap) -- A special bill agreed on between the rival parties over the weekend on April's ferry disaster is still not enough but should be the starting point for unearthing the truth behind the tragedy that killed over 300 people, religious groups said Monday.

The 6,825-ton ferry Sewol sank off the country's southwest coast on April 16 due to what prosecutors believe was a combination of cargo overloading, excessive remodeling of the ship and poor steering.

After months of wrangling, the ruling Saenuri Party and the main opposition New Politics Alliance for Democracy agreed on Oct. 31 on the terms of a bill calling for an independent probe into the incident.

As the families have practically accepted the bill under which the committee will be chaired by a figure to be recommended by them and remain active for up to eight months, the bill is expected to be passed through the National Assembly by Friday, nearly 200 days after the deadly ferry sinking.

"The special bill prepared as late as 200 days after the tragedy is insufficient and has many limitations but should be the starting point of unveiling truth," a labor committee of the Jogye Order, South Korea's largest Buddhist sect, said in a press release.

"We need to clearly unveil the exact cause of the incident, including why the Sewol ferry made a sharp turn and thoroughly investigate how the Coast Guard, the Ministry of Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, and the Navy could not save any single life locked inside the ship," the committee said.

Also to be examined is whether the national anti-disaster system worked properly at that time, it added.

The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea also issued a statement, saying that efforts to unveil the truth behind the incident have just begun with the agreement. However, it said the agreed-upon bill is still not enough to fully investigate the case and punish those responsible.

As to the problems of the bill, the group cited the committee's short period of activities and failure to win power to investigate and indict those responsible for the tragedy.

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