New York State filed suit today against several of the largest LCD manufacturers, citing concerns of price-fixing schemes. Those under scrutiny include Sharp, LG, Hitachi and Samsung – the latter being the No.1 LCD seller in the US. More »
Nine chip makers – including heavy hitters like Samsung and Hitachi – have collectively been fined $US404 million by the European Commission over DRAM price fixing. Cartels: they’re not just for drug lords anymore. More »
Chi Mei Optoelectronics, a major LCD maker who sells to companies including Apple, HP and Dell, has admitted to a wide-scale price fixing conspiracy between late 2001 and late 2006. The details are being kept under wraps, but Chi Mei has pleaded guilty to the charges in a San Francisco court, and in addition to the monetary penalty, nine executives are also under investigation. [FBI] More »
Hitachi has agreed to pay a $US31 million fine after admitting to fixing prices on LCD screens sold to Dell from 2001 to 2004. Last year, LG Display, Sharp and Chungwa Picture Tubes also admitted to LCD price-fixing and ended up paying similar fines, totaling more than $US600 million to the United States government. [NYTimes]
After nearly three years of investigation, LG, Sharp and Chunghwa Picture Tubes Ltd have admitted to participating in a cartel between 2001 and 2006 that fixed prices of LCD screens affecting “millions of American consumers who use computers, cell phones and numerous other household electronics every day.” The Justice Department has ordered the companies pony up $US580 million in fines—$US400 million from LG, $US120 million from Sharp and $US65 million from Chunghwa.
