Chi Mei to delay Vietnam project on slowing demand

Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., Taiwan's second-biggest maker of liquid crystal displays, said it will delay an investment in Vietnam indefinitely because of faster inflation and slowing demand for LCD monitors and televisions.

Chi Mei had planned to build a factory to assemble LCD modules in Hanoi in 2010, Denis Chen, director of finance and accounting at Tainan-based Chi Mei, said by phone yesterday. Vietnam's annual inflation quickened to 27 percent in July, the fastest pace since at least 1992.

Chi Mei joined companies including Sony Corp., the world's second largest television maker, in delaying or pulling out of investment in Vietnam. The Tokyo-based company said earlier this month it will shut a TV assembly plant in Ho Chi Minh City as lower trade barriers reduced the benefits of manufacturing electronic products in the country.