K.Y. Lee, chairman of AUO, made the statement at a recent technology trend forum held in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province of China. He also said that currently orders from Chinese customers account for approximately 20% of the overall revenue at AUO, whose capacity-utilization ratio has been close 100% due to strong demand.

 

Thanks to Chinese government's subsidies for home appliances in rural areas, China became a very important market for Taiwanese TFT-LCD panel suppliers by offsetting lost orders from financial storm hit Europe and the U.S.

 

According to Chinese media, Lee said the first quarter is the bottom of the panel industry and now all factors, including market and panel prices, are recovering.

 

AUO's utilization ratio, according to Lee, hit the lowest level at about 40% but now the ratio has recovered to nearly 100%. So, he added, AUO has restarted production at its 8.5G production line and is expanding its second 7.5G line. For a planned 11G panel factory, which AUO originally announced to kick off construction in the second half of this year, Lee said his company would first evaluate the overall business climate and then set the construction date.