Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission (FTC) on September 20
announced it fined four optical disk drive (ODD) makers for price fixing.
According to FTC, Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology, Hitachi-LG Data Storage, Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions and Sony Optiarc, viloated the Taiwanese fair trade law for their concerted action in open-bid competition for ODD procurement PC vendors HP and Dell during September 2006-September 2009.
According to the FTC, the companies, before or during open-bid competition held by HP and Dell to procure ODDs, exchanged quotations and related information. They fixed the winning prices and the order of priority for suppliers in advance.
Toshiba-Samsung Storage Technology was fined with NT$25 million (US$841,411); Hitachi-LG Data Storage NT$16 million (US$533,903); Philips & Lite-On Digital Solutions, NT$8 million (US$272,526); and Sony Optiarc, NT$5 million (US$170,172).
Taiwan's FTC began investigations in November 2011, following a U.S. District Court ruling against Hitachi-LG Data Storage, which was found guilty in a similar price fixing probe related to optical disc drives. The U.S. court had fined the company with $21.1 million.