Accounts for 41.5% of Global Market
The Korea Display Industry Association announced on April 13 that Chinese display manufacturers accounted for 41.5 percent of the global market last year, when the sales revenue-based market share of South Korean display manufacturers was 33.2 percent. “The South Korean companies beat their Japanese competitors and rose to the top in 2004 and lost their position to the Chinese companies in 17 years,” it said.
Chinese display manufacturers began to increase their investment in the LCD segment in the early 2010s with the Chinese government providing huge subsidies. The South Korean companies lost their price competitiveness and reduced their production in the segment, and then the Chinese companies rose to the top in 2018. In this segment, China’s market share amounted to 50.7 percent last year, when South Korea’s stood at 14.6 percent.
South Korea is still ahead in the OLED segment, where its global market share amounted to 82.8 percent in 2021. However, China is poised to catch up in this segment as well. As for OLED displays for use in smartphones and tablet PCs, Tianma, BOE and so on are rapidly increasing their investment and China’s production volume is likely to exceed South Korea’s in two years.
When it comes to OLED TV panels, LG Display’s monopoly is predicted to be broken in this decade. With the Chinese government increasing its subsidies, Chinese manufacturers’ share in this segment is estimated to reach at least 15.5 percent in 2026.