Measured Investment
When asked about the new investment plan in its 10th-generation liquid crystal display (LCD) lines, Samsung Display President Park Dong-Gun said, “[We are] still going over it.” Samsung Display has been considering whether or not to build an additional 10th-generation LCD line, and is watching the relevant market from the beginning of this year.
Regarding the investment in the 10.6th-generation LCD sector, Park said, “When conducting business, we are considering various scenarios,” to reporters after the weekly Wednesday meeting of Samsung Group presidents on Aug. 12. Early this year, Samsung Display Director Lee Chang-hoon also said in the performance conference call, “For the expansion of 10th-generation LCD lines, we will decide based on the market conditions.”
Some display industry sources say that Samsung Display will announce its expansion plan for 10th-generation LCD lines sooner or later. Since its competitors, Japan’s Sharp and China’s BOE, which have been operating 10th-generation LCD lines, has revealed their expansion plans, Samsung Display is expected to scramble to begin construction.
However, Samsung Display is saying that nothing is decided yet. Indeed, when BOE announced its plan to invest in a 10.5th-generation LCD line in April, officials showed some skepticism, saying, “There is low investment efficiency in the 10th-generation LCD sector.” With the LCD market remaining in depression, the outlook on good returns is also dim.
For Samsung Display, it should reduce the dependency on the LCD market, in which Chinese companies are increasing the market share, in the medium and long term. But the thing is that its growth in the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel market is lower than expected.
An official from the display industry said, “In order to break through the transition for changing its major business, there is a growing need to invest in the 10th-generation LCD sector.”