Taiwanese panel makers remained the leading players in China’s TV market in July, but Chinese panel vendors are narrowing the gap by expanding their capacity and customer base, market intelligence firm WitsView said on Monday.
Taiwan-based flat-panel maker Chimei Innolux Corp (奇美電子) had the biggest share of the 3.96 million panels bought by China’s six major TV brands in July at 27.1 percent, while Taiwan-based AU Optronics Corp (友達光電) came second with a 20.2 percent share.
South Korean panel suppliers LG Display Co and Samsung Electronics Co trailed behind in third and fourth place with 14.6 percent and 13.1 percent shares respectively, WitsView said.
Worth noting, however, was the rise of BOE Technology Group Co (BOE, 京東方) and China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co. (CSOT, 華星光電), China’s top two flat-screen panel makers, which accounted for 11.6 percent and 8.9 percent of the big TV brands’ panel purchases in July, WitsView said.
Both BOE and CSOT relied on their domestic advantages as panel manufacturers to boost their respective market shares from 5.6 percent and 4.5 percent in the first quarter to 8.6 percent and 8.7 percent in the second quarter, the WitsView report showed.
Also, BOE and CSOT have both reached the milestone of 1 million monthly shipments, benefiting from sales to Chinese domestic TV brands and even from the two major South Korean TV brands, the report said.
CSOT, for example, were to ship an estimated 1.3 million units last month, of which over 700,000 units will be shipped to the six major Chinese brands and about 300,000 units were to be delivered to South Korean brand Samsung, WitsView said.
“It is certain that Chinese panel manufacturers will become stronger in their own market plus with the two Korean export customers,” WitsView director Burrell Liu (劉陳宏) said.
“Taiwanese panel manufacturers will face aggressive competition in the future and must find a way to survive,” Liu warned.
What may help Taiwanese producers in the short term is that China’s TV sector is growing.
The 3.96 million units purchased by China’s top six TV brands was 10.9 percent higher than in June, according to WitsView.
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