According to BusinessKorea, with the rapid growth of the global OLED display market, Korean panel makers are not only facing the pressure of patent litigation, but also coping with the fierce competition with Chinese manufacturers.
The report pointed out that the two major Korean manufacturers that dominate the OLED market are not slack. LG Display (LGD) announced in July this year that it will add an additional 3 trillion won ($2.53 billion) to its 10.5-generation OLED production line in Paju City. In addition, Samsung Display announced on October 10 that it will invest 13.1 trillion won (US$11.05 billion) to produce large-size OLED panels.
Although Korean panel makers have strong investment in OLEDs, Chinese panel makers are also actively deploying the market. For example, on September 27th, Huike's total investment of 32 billion yuan in the 8.6th generation ultra-high-definition new display device production line project was officially started in Liuyang Economic Development Zone (High-tech Zone). After the project is put into production, it will focus on the ultra-high definition display 4K 8K 10K white OLED panel.
In addition to the pressure of market share, the patent litigation faced by Korean panel makers is also getting worse.
The report pointed out that Samsung Display and LGD are facing patent litigation filed by the Irish factory Solas OLED recently. In addition, Solas filed patent litigation related to OLED panels for Samsung Electronics, LG, Apple, Sony, Google and Dell.
The patent litigation in the OLED market places a heavy burden on Korean manufacturers who are committed to the transition to OLED panels. For LCDs with deteriorating revenues, plans to raise funds to invest in next-generation displays will also face difficulties.
In addition, the catch-up of Chinese panel makers has made the Korean factory bigger.
At present, the LCD market share of China's panel makers has surpassed that of Korean companies, and Chinese manufacturers are also expanding their investment in OLED panels.
The report pointed out that although Samsung's display still has a high market share in the field of smart phones, Chinese panel makers show obvious signs of growth every quarter.
At the same time, according to data from IHS Markit, Samsung and LG's market share declined in the second quarter, while China's BOE display market share increased from 8.5% to 11.5%. Other Chinese companies, such as Shanghai Hehui Optoelectronics, Visionox and Tianma Microelectronics, have increased their market share. On the other hand, Apple is currently testing OLED panels produced by Chinese companies, including BOE, and the market share is likely to increase further.
BusinessKorea finally pointed out that it is expected that in the future smart phone OLED market, the competition between Korean and Chinese display manufacturers will become more intense, and the road of Korean display manufacturers is long and tortuous.