Taiwan tech industry faces up to Samsung

Taiwanese companies have long viewed tech giant Samsung as a major threat and the battle has recently appeared to tilt in favour of the South Korean rival as Taiwan's smartphone, memory chip and display panel makers suffered sagging exports.The sales erosion has been driven by competition, some of it from South Korea, and a weak global economy but has also spawned fears on this export-reliant island of 23 million that Samsung has deliberately targeted Taiwanese firms as part of a campaign to undermine their competitiveness in markets around the world.Business Today, Taiwan's top business magazine, gave voice to those fears last month with an extensive cover story accusing Samsung Electronics of launching a 'Kill Taiwan' effort and targetting some of the island's leading high-tech companies including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co, the world's largest contract chip maker.Adding fuel to the fire, Taiwan's Fair Trade Commission recently launched an investigation into allegations that Samsung planted unflattering comments about Taiwanese consumer electronics on the Internet as a way of undermining their appeal to customers.Click here for full story