Samsung claims top dog position in LCDs

Samsung has claimed that it is now the world leader in supplying TFT LCDs to the world market. But the news has surprised monitor analysts, who said that it meant Sharp had seriously dropped its market share. Asian reports today said that Samsung had sold 800,000 TFTs in the first six months of this year, giving it a market share of 17 per cent and thrashing Sharp (16 per cent), Toshiba (13 per cent) and NEC (13 per cent). Bob Raikes, director of monitor market research company Meko, said: “Sharp would have had to have dropped very far back. That would have meant a very hard first six months this year. The last figures I saw, Sharp held number one position with 30 per cent market share.” If Samsung’s claim is true, it would be good news for the South Korean company, which wants to beat its Japanese competitors on both CRT and LCD sales.