Samsung, Sharp see LCD TV market of 100 mln in 2010

YOKOHAMA, Japan (Reuters) - Senior executives from Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Sharp Corp said on Wednesday the global liquid crystal display (LCD) TV market will balloon to 100 million units in 2010 from an estimated 20 million in 2005 as prices continue to fall.

"I believe the LCD TV market is quite capable of hitting 100 million," Sang-Wan Lee, president of Samsung's LCD business, said in a speech at a flat panel display forum in Yokohama, near Tokyo.

Lee's bullish comments come as industry analysts warn the LCD industry will suffer from overcapacity next year as heavyweights like South Korea's Samsung and LG.Philips LCD ramp up output and bring new factories online.

Mikio Katayama, head of Sharp's LCD business, warned that profitability in the industry would be hurt if producers overinvest in capacity during the good times, but he echoed Lee's view that falling prices would continue to stoke demand.

"The LCD market will likely reach 80 million units in 2008," Katayama said in a speech, versus his expectations that the global market would total between 15 and 20 million this year. "It will probably clear 100 million in 2010."

Sharp said earlier this month that supply of LCD panels for TVs larger than 32 inches would likely fall short of demand by 15 to 30 percent in 2005, reflecting lower-than-expected production yields in the industry and a shift in consumer demand to big TVs.

Sharp is the world's largest maker of LCD TVs.