A new report has suggested that both Samsung and LG are planning on selling a major part of their respective production line that make LCD panels. The LCD business has an overall value of $106 billion which makes this recent news quite significant. Smaller stakeholders in the industry would seek to gain a higher standing by buying out the leading roles that are owned by Samsung and LG.
The news of selling major portions of the LCD business arrives after both South Korean tech giants move towards Quantum Dot and OLED displays. Notably, it has been speculated that this transition would seek to drive up prices for LCD panels in the first half of this year; since a shortage of supply is expected to arrive within the industry.
In the large $106 billion LCD industry, Samsung and LG represent a stake worth about $33 billion. This large sum represents a major share and both known electronics brands are reportedly planning on selling their respective stakes in the market. The OEMs are said to focus more on the booming OLED display and will also boost production large size displays for products like television using this technology.
According to reports, Samsung Display has sold its LCD manufacturing equipment at its Gen-8 LCD production line to a display manufacturer from China, named Efonlong. The equipment will be shipped to China next month and Samsung will use the capacity freed up to produce quantum dot displays. The Gen-8 line will now produce 65 inch or larger displays using the new and emerging display technology.
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On the other hand, LG is looking to close a deal with another Chinese LCD display manufacturer. The South Korean brand also wishes to sell its LCD manufacturing equipment which is from its P8 manufacturing line. Unlike Samsung, LG will use the opened production capacity to boost OLED production in its manufacturing plants.
This marks a major shift in the market as previous key players are leaving the LCD industry for a popular technology which is seeing considerable growth recently. Even in smartphone markets, OLED displays have become a flagship standard while TV’s with the same technology is also witnessing increasing sales. Fortunately, the price hike that will accompany this notable transition will only last in the first half of 2020 and should recover later in the second half of this year.
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(Via)
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