Chinese Chase

LG Display OLED TV is being showcased at a recent trade show.
LG Display OLED TV is being showcased at a recent trade show.

 

Chinese companies are posing a significant threat to Korean display panel manufacturers. The former are raising their market share at a fast pace thanks to the increasing demand in the mobile phone and TV industries and the Chinese government’s support policies.

According to industry sources, China overtook Japan in the large display panel (22.86 cm or larger) market segment in 2012 and is expected to account for approximately 15 percent of it in the fourth quarter of this year to rank third behind Korea and Taiwan. Samsung Display and LG Display have Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics, which are dominating the global TV market, as their captive markets, respectively. Samsung Electronics is also leading the global mobile market, acting as a major profit source for Samsung Display in the larger and smaller panel segments alike.

Chinese mobile device and TV manufacturers are boosting their global market share these days, based on their gigantic domestic market. China’s TV market share is estimated at over 20 percent now and the mobile phone market share at higher than 15 percent.

The Chinese government’s strong support policy is contributing greatly to the country’s display panel industry as well. The government has picked LCDs as one of its targets for industrial structural advancement. According to its 12th five-year economic development plan covering 2011 to 2015, it is going to self-supply 80 percent of its LCD panels by 2015 through the enhancement of production efficiency. Chinese display panel makers are still relying greatly on smaller, less advanced panels and lower prices.

However, they cannot be neglected at all given the dynamics unique to the electronics industry. “The joint growth of Chinese hardware manufacturers and display panel suppliers can pose a severe challenge at any time,” said an industry expert.

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