AOC International Co. this week claimed that its monitor sales for this year will exceed 10 million for the first time. The firm, which has monitor plants in China, Brazil and India, expects sales will have the opportunity to hit 15 million in 2001.

Mr. Hsien Chien-shen, the chairman of AOC said that his company may replace Samsung of South Korea as the world's largest monitor manufacturer before 2003.

Previously, Samsung predicted its monitor sales would reach 15 million in 2000. But the firm obtained several international OEM orders recently, thus paving the way for sales of 18 million monitors this year, Hsien said.

AOC also obtained huge OEM orders from international manufacturers over the past few months, increasing sales predictions from eight million to 10 million for the year.

AOC expects to rank as the fourth largest monitor manufacturer in 2000, following Samsung, LG of South Korea, and Philips of the Netherlands. AOC delivered only 5.5 million monitors in 1999.

Samsung has not yet set up its monitor plants in the comparably low production cost nations such as China and India, and so will be much less competive than AOC in striving for international OEM and ODM orders in future, according to AOC's Hsien.

Meanwhile, both Daewoo and LG have already entrused AOC with OEM orders. Earlier this year AOC signed a three-year conract with LG for supply of monitors, for example.