LCD compensation funds withheld: report

Two Chinese industrial societies have withheld 172 million yuan ($27.6 million) in funds to compensate domestic television enterprises, following a fine handed down to six LCD panel manufacturers, an industry insider told the Global Times Monday.

The National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) announced Friday it would fine six LCD panel manufacturers - South Korea's Samsung and LG, and four Taiwan firms - 353 million yuan for illegally manipulating the price of LCD panels.

From that amount, 172 million yuan was to be allocated for compensating domestic television enterprises, the announcement said.

But the affected TV makers have not yet received any compensation, as the funds have so far been retained by the China Video Industry Association (CVIA) and Shenzhen CTU Hi-tech Ltd (CTU), an anonymous insider told the Global Times Monday. The CVIA refused to comment on the issue when contacted by the Global Times.

Bai Weimin, secretary general of the CVIA, was quoted in the Beijing News Monday as saying that the NDRC was aware that the funds had been withheld, but that it was inappropriate to disclose detailed reasons for retaining the funds.

The CVIA had earlier organized a meeting with several domestic TV makers and said that they would assign them 86 million yuan in compensation, but an industry insider was quoted in the Beijing News as saying that the CVIA had decided instead to put the funds toward patent protection and anti-monopoly efforts.

Samsung said it had already transferred the funds to an account appointed by the NDRC, but had no idea about the recipient.

The CVIA is the only officially recognized national audio-video industrial society that has been approved by the Ministry of Civil Affairs.

According to the NDRC, from 2001 to 2006, the six LCD panel manufacturers abused their dominant position in the industry by manipulating the price of the panels. They sold more than 5 million panels during the time, earning around 208 million yuan.