Samsung, LG fined for LCD panel price-rigging

 BEIJING, Jan. 4 (Xinhua) -- Samsung, LG and four Taiwanese firms have been fined heavily for price-fixing of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels on the Chinese mainland.

These companies have been ordered to pay 144 million yuan in fines and return 172 million yuan of extra payment to Chinese mainland buyers. The government also confiscated¹ 36.75 million yuan of their illegal gains, China's top price regulator said Friday.

The four firms from Taiwan are Chi Mei Optoelectronics, AU Optronics, Chunghwa Picture Tubes and HannStar Display.

The six companies were fined for price-rigging on the Chinese mainland between 2001 and 2006, according to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC).

The NDRC launched an investigation² after receiving multiple complaints since Dec. 2006 about price-fixing involving the six companies.

During the investigation, the firms confessed that they held 53 meetings between 2001 and 2006 to fix the prices of flat panels supplied to the Chinese mainland market. This harmed the interests of both other LCD panel suppliers and consumers, according to the NDRC.

LCD panels accounted for about 80 percent of the production cost of color TVs during the 2001-2006 period. More recently, the rate is around 70 percent, according to NDRC data.

The 172 million yuan that was illegally obtained from Chinese television manufacturers has now been reimbursed³ to these companies, said the NDRC.

The six companies also vowed⁴ to extend the free warranty⁵ period of their LCD panels for TV producers on the Chinese mainland from 18 months to 36 months, which could save manufacturers 395 million yuan each year on maintenance costs, the NDRC added.

Up until recent years, TV manufacturers on the mainland have suffered from their reliance on LCD panel imports, as the core technology of LCD production has been kept among LCD panel suppliers in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.

1 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

2 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

3 reimbursed   

v.偿还，付还( reimburse的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Any out-of-pocket expenses incurred on the firm's business will be reimbursed. 由公司业务产生的开销都可以报销。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Employees are reimbursed for any legal fees incurred when they relocate. 员工调往异地工作时，他们可以报销由此产生的所有法律服务费用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 vowed   

起誓，发誓（vow的过去式与过去分词形式）

参考例句：

• He vowed quite solemnly that he would carry out his promise. 他非常庄严地发誓要实现他的诺言。
• I vowed to do more of the cooking myself. 我发誓自己要多动手做饭。

5 warranty   

n.担保书，证书，保单

参考例句：

• This warranty is good for one year after the date of the purchase of the product.本保证书自购置此产品之日起有效期为一年。
• As your guarantor,we have signed a warranty to the bank.作为你们的担保人，我们已经向银行开出了担保书。