Samsung, LG charged with LCD panel price fixing in China
A number of Apple suppliers, including Samsung, LG, AU Optronics and Innolux, have been fined by the Chinese government for price fixing.
A total of six companies have been accused of holding 53 secretive meetings in Taiwan and South Korea to agree on prices for LCD panels, according to Bloomberg. China's National Development and Reform Commission also fined Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. and HannStar Display Corp. in the price fixing scheme.
The commission reportedly said that the companies, which mainly build LCD panels for TVs, also shared other confidential information between them. It also revealed that the companies confessed to their crimes.
For its part, Samsung Display Co. said it ceased participation in price fixing at the end of 2005. Though the company is a fierce rival, Samsung remains a key supplier to Apple, and was initially the only manufacturer of Retina displays for the third-generation iPad.
LG, another major Apple panel supplier, said its illegal activities occurred between 2001 and 2006.
China's fines come soon after a number of the same companies settled a class-action lawsuit in July, in which they paid a total of $1.12 billion in damages. As part of that deal, LG paid $380 million, Samsung paid $240 million, AU Optronics paid $170 million, and Toshiba Corp. paid $21 million.
LG, Samsung and Chunghwa were also hit with $585 million in fines in 2008 when all three companies pleaded guilty to price fixing in the LCD display market. At the time it was revealed that Sharp's role in the matter affected Apple from September 2005 to December 2006, when Sharp supplied iPod displays.
A total of six companies have been accused of holding 53 secretive meetings in Taiwan and South Korea to agree on prices for LCD panels, according to Bloomberg. China's National Development and Reform Commission also fined Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd. and HannStar Display Corp. in the price fixing scheme.
The commission reportedly said that the companies, which mainly build LCD panels for TVs, also shared other confidential information between them. It also revealed that the companies confessed to their crimes.
For its part, Samsung Display Co. said it ceased participation in price fixing at the end of 2005. Though the company is a fierce rival, Samsung remains a key supplier to Apple, and was initially the only manufacturer of Retina displays for the third-generation iPad.
LG, another major Apple panel supplier, said its illegal activities occurred between 2001 and 2006.
China's fines come soon after a number of the same companies settled a class-action lawsuit in July, in which they paid a total of $1.12 billion in damages. As part of that deal, LG paid $380 million, Samsung paid $240 million, AU Optronics paid $170 million, and Toshiba Corp. paid $21 million.
LG, Samsung and Chunghwa were also hit with $585 million in fines in 2008 when all three companies pleaded guilty to price fixing in the LCD display market. At the time it was revealed that Sharp's role in the matter affected Apple from September 2005 to December 2006, when Sharp supplied iPod displays.
Comments
I do not believe that an ethical company like Samsung would engage in such a practice... /s
Yeah, Samsung and the others undoubtedly admitted guilt that can open them up to multibillion dollar lawsuits just for the heck of it. They didn't do anything wrong and this is all fabricated by people who are out to get them. /s
Did they pay you well for that post?
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Originally Posted by MacRulez
"Price fixing is evil."
So is misrepresenting the truth.
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Originally Posted by jragosta
Yeah, Samsung and the others undoubtedly admitted guilt that can open them up to multibillion dollar lawsuits just for the heck of it. They didn't do anything wrong and this is all fabricated by people who are out to get them. /s
Did they pay you well for that post?
Cool your jets, Joe. I'm just saying that where the Chinese government is concerned you never know what is really going on. But as we fans know there really ARE people who are out to get Apple.
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Originally Posted by lkrupp
Cool your jets, Joe. I'm just saying that where the Chinese government is concerned you never know what is really going on. But as we fans know there really ARE people who are out to get Apple.
Yeah, the heads of Samsung and LG are probably just happy there weren't summarily executed with a bullet to the back of the head to preserve their organs. It is China after all.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRulez
Agreed. It would be a horrible thing if AI ran stories about price fixing that weren't true.
No more horrible than you citing their click bait headline as fact.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lkrupp
Cool your jets, Joe. I'm just saying that where the Chinese government is concerned you never know what is really going on. But as we fans know there really ARE people who are out to get Apple.
In China, Lenovo and Huawei are taking over the Android smartphone market. The big Chinese brands like Lenovo, Huawei, TCL and ZTE control over 70% of the Chinese smartphone market share. Samsung is having difficulty in China, the largest smartphone market in the world, right now.
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Originally Posted by MacRulez
... If you feel the European Commission has misled the public by claiming an outcome contrary to the actual one, once you're done providing your proof of what you believe is Google's massive criminal activity ...
I see you don't have anything but snideness in you arsenal on this issue.
1. Yes, the EC and DoJ have misled the public.
2. All you have to do for proof of Google's criminal activity is look at their rap sheet.
Although, I find it amusing that you are still pretending that Google hasn't been caught breaking the law on numerous occasions.
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Eh... My question is more: "Damages paid... to WHO?" Lawyers? Government? If it were the USA, it'd be lawyers sucking up all that cash, not the actual damaged parties.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRulez
Nothing but links to the court documents which provide the details of the judgements.
Meanwhile, you've provided nothing but your typing prowess. No links, no evidence of any kind to substantiate your unusual claim that the European Commission is wrong, even as Apple has accepted their decision.
1. They are settlements, not judgments.
2. Everyone is familiar with the case and knows that agency pricing and a "most favored nation" clause don't amount to price fixing.
Guess you were pretty upset about that comment in the other thread that you were pimping for liars and crooks. Well, that's your choice.
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it seems that there is a new sherrif in town, at least in turkey.
5 years in the pokey!
Turkey’s Capital Markets Law enacted on Dec. 31 stipulates punishment for “those who provide untruthful, wrong or misleading information, start rumors, or provide news, commentary, or prepare reports with the intention of influencing prices
Quote:
Originally Posted by MacRulez
The moderator here has expressed an interest in elevating the conversation above personal insults against other forum members, per JeffDM's Rule #1. You may wish to keep trying to lower the bar, but the rest of us applaud Tallest Skil's interest in establishing a more professional tone for this community.
If you insist on coming here to pervert the truth with misrepresentations of fact, or twisting it into forms unrecognizable, then I don't see why you should expect to not have that pointed out. If a "professional tone" means that we let people lie, repeatedly, and pretend they aren't, which I'm sure you would love, in the interests of establishing a false "civility" then there's no point to this forum. It's your choice you know: you could be honest, you could not come here, or you could do what you do.