Taipei, March 19, 2010 (CENS)-Following formal merger on March 18, Chimei Innolux Corporation will show the synergy as result in three months, especially in cost reduction, and will aim to generate revenues of NT$600 billion this year, turning the maker into the largest FPD (flat panel display) maker in Taiwan, said H.C. Tuan, chairman and CEO.

Tuan made the remark during the press conference marking the birth of the new company, which has been formed via the merger of Innolux Display, Chi Mei Optoelectronics, and TPO Displays Corp. Tuan undertakes the chairmanship of the new company for the time being and will cede the post to Liao Chin-hsiang, former chairman of Chi Mei, in June when the shareholders` meeting will elect the board of directors for the new company.

Innolux, the surviving company of the merger, will retain its original name before renaming itself "Chimei Innolux Corp." 15 days later. Share price of Innolux slipped NT$0.5, closing at NT$51.1, on March 17, on trading volume of 39,600,000 shares,.

Tuan reported that total revenue of the three merged companies hit NT$40 billion in the first two months this year, including NT$29 billion for Innolux, NT$54 billion for Chi Mei, and NT$2.7 billion for TPO. Market players estimated that total revenue of the new company this year may top NT$600 billion, compared with NT$500 billion of AU Optronics, originally Taiwan`s largest FPD maker. Worldwide, the new company stands at third place.

Capital outlay of the new company, said Tuan, will top NT$60 billion this year, including NT$20 billion on expanding 8.5th-generation capacity, NT$20 billion on expanding 6th-generation capacity, and the remainder on expanding the capacity for touch-screen models and other products.

The 8.5th-generation plant of Chi Mei, located in Luchu of Kaohsiung County, already started mass production this month, with initial output reaching 8,000 glass substrates a month, which will rise to 27,000 by year end and 54,000 by the middle next year.

The new company lost some 15% of manpower during the merger process but its total labor force will surpass the 100,000 mark again, along with the expected expansion of its operation.

(by Philip Liu)