Domestic manufacturers dominate liquid crystal display panel market

Chinese display panel makers accounted for nearly half of the share in the global liquid crystal display TV panel market in the first half of this year, dominating the industry.

BOE Technology Group Co Ltd shipped the most panels, followed by South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd.

Beijing-based market researcher Sigmaintell Consulting said shipments of LCD TV panels worldwide totaled 140 million pieces in the year's first half, up 3.6 percent compared with the same period a year ago.

The supply of TV panels though has surpassed demand due to the slowdown in the global economy and weaker consumer purchasing power. Manufacturers are facing severe challenges from falling panel prices, the Sigmaintell report said.

The shipment of BOE's LCD TV panels stood at 27.6 million in the Jan-June period while LG Display followed with 22.7 million, down 4.5 percent year-on-year. Innolux Display Group was in third place, having shipped 21.9 million units.

Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd, a subsidiary of consumer electronics giant TCL Corp, ranked fourth, shipping 19.3 million pieces of TV panels. Chinese panel makers accounted for a 45.8 percent share in the global LCD TV panel market.

Sigmaintell estimated that the gap between supply and demand would widen further, and the panel market may face a long-term risk of oversupply. The industry may have to undergo a reshuffle given fierce market competition, it said.

The panel makers must reduce costs, optimize their internal structures, promote technological innovation and explore more innovative applications, the report by the consultancy said.

Separately, BOE's Gen 10.5 TFTLCD production line has entered operation in Hefei, Anhui province. The plant will produce high-definition LCD screens of 65 inches and above.

"China's semiconductor display industry has taken large steps forward in the past decade, changing the display industry's global competitive landscape. China has transformed into the world's largest consumer market and manufacturing base for display terminals, with huge market potential," said BOE Vice-President Zhang Yu.

CSOT also announced in November last year that its Gen 11 TFT-LCD and active-matrix OLED production line had officially began operation. The project will produce 43-inch, 65-inch and 75-inch liquid crystal display screens.

TCL founder and chairman Li Dongsheng said China will likely take the lead in the semiconductor display sector across the world within the next three to five years.

"China will play an active and vital role in prompting the development of the semiconductor display industry, which has a high entry threshold and needs high investment," Li said.

He noted that China has the best chance of making a breakthrough in the field and expressed confidence in the prospects of the high-tech industry.

China is expected to replace South Korea as the world's largest flat-panel display producer in 2019, a report from the China Video Industry Association and the China Optics and Optoelectronics Manufacturers Association said.

"The average size of TV panels is likely to increase 1.4 inches in 2019. The 65-inch dimension will become the most popular size of TV," Li Yaqin, general manager of Sigmaintell, said while adding the 65-inch TV will become the mainstream screen in people's living rooms in the future.

Li added flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) will not be able to immediately trigger customer purchases at this time although most current consumers are technophiles and high-end users.

Compared with traditional LCD display panels, OLED has a fast response rate, wide viewing angles, high-contrast images and richer colors. It is thinner and can be made flexible.

Wen Jianping, president of All View Cloud, a Beijing-based consultancy specializing in home appliances, said the price of OLED TVs will continue to fall in the next two years, with sales rising to 380,000 units this year, and reaching 800,000 units in 2020.

"The penetration rate of such TVs in China is relatively low, while such type of TV has become the representative of high-end TVs in the United States, Europe, Japan and other countries," said Park Changhyuk, general manager of LG Display China's promotion unit.

China has huge growth potential for OLED TVs, the LG Display official added.