Taiwan-based display giant Innolux has teamed up with the renowned convenience store chain FamilyMart to introduce its groundbreaking "Smart Shopping Cart" at one of the FamiSuper stores.
Taiwan's prominent display manufacturers, Innolux and AUO, are transforming, extending their reach beyond traditional panel manufacturing. Both companies are leveraging proprietary technologies to make significant strides in fields like healthcare and art.
The low utilization rates of LCD fabs have caused display driver IC (DDI) suppliers to exercise caution when predicting demand for the first quarter of 2024.
To expand its influence in Apple's iPhone supply chain, Chinese panel supplier BOE has continued to invest in panel R&D. However, after failing to supply the first wave of iPhone 15 panels in 2023, it's reportedly still unable to effectively address the yield rate issues. Therefore, the likelihood of a supply expansion is low.
LG Display (LGD)'s LCD business in China continues to incur losses due to the expansion of Chinese competitors. Currently, the utilization rate at LGD's 8.5-gen LCD factory in Guangzhou is only 50%, which has garnered talks about whether or not it will be sold in the future. After the reported acquisition interest from Skyworth ultimately fell through, BOE and TCL CSOT emerged as strong acquisition candidates. It has been reported that Samsung Electronics may be involved as well.
Samsung Electronics anticipates a recovery in the terminal market in 2024 and reportedly plans to increase the production of televisions and smartphones by 10% annually, potentially driving the recovery of markets such as semiconductors, components, and displays.
HannStar, a Taiwan-based mid- to small-size TFT-LCD panel manufacturer, is seeing its operating rate rebound in the fourth quarter. The company is expecting operating rate of 80–90% this quarter, from 70–80% in the third. The panel maker projects marginal growth for most end applications except for automotive uses.
The continuing China+1 trend has seen an industrial cluster take shape in north Vietnam, with manufacturers including Hon Hai (Foxconn), Quanta, Pegatron, Wistron, and Qisda setting up facilities there. In Qisda's case, the company sees three main reasons for producing LCD monitors and projectors in North Vietnam: supply chain considerations, proximity to China, and free trade agreements (FTAs).
Recently, the focus of the South Korean panel industry has been on LG Display's (LGD) 8.5-gen factory in Guangzhou, China, as it is the only remaining liquid-crystal display (LCD) factory in the South Korean panel industry. With the market conditions changing and global supply chain restructuring, the factory's strategic value and importance are increasing. It could maintain its current operating model in the short term, possibly expanding shipments to 16 million units by 2024.
Taiwan's top two panel makers are forecasting bright prospects in 2024, with demand driven by major sports competitions, AI PCs, and Microsoft's latest operating system.
In its November 20 report on export statistics, Taiwan's Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) sees opportunities for an end to the 14-month-long consecutive negative growth. Order volumes for November 2023 are expected to be in the range of US$51–53 billion, with double-digit growth already present in October for display panels and optical equipment, particularly optical lenses.
As demand and panel makers' efforts to defend LCD panel prices decline, overall utilization at display fabs is anticipated to fall below 70% in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to Omdia.
While Samsung Electronics and LG Display (LGD) are engaged in TV panel collaboration, it has been reported recently that the two sides are having disagreements over the future supply scale of TV panels.
Taiwanese panel maker AU Optronics (AUO) is making a significant foray into the automotive market with innovative smart cockpit solutions featuring MicroLED display technology. The company's recent acquisition of Behr-Hella Thermocontrol GmbH (BHTC) and its upcoming inaugural appearance at CES 2024 are key milestones in this strategic expansion.
BenQ Medical Technology (BenQ Medical,) a subsidiary of Qisda, has seen an increase in overall revenue following its acquisition of K2 International Medical (K2.) The firm's vice chairperson Harry Yang said he expects operations to grow steadily in 2024 and Southeast Asia will be the main driver of growth.
India is aggressively recruiting Taiwanese partners for its semiconductor dream. Not only aiming to produce mature-node semiconductors for its 1.4 billion population market, it also sends out a clear message to IC design houses – come design for India and make for India, don't miss out on the chance.
China has come to establish a dominant position in the LCD TV panel industry, which also gives Chinese LCD panel suppliers substantial price-setting power. The said suppliers have raised prices by controlling operating rates despite sluggish end-market demand. This strategy, however, has engendered dissatisfaction among manufacturer brands, of which Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have reduced their order volume to Chinese manufacturers and placed them with AU Optronics (AUO), Innolux, Sharp, and LG Display (LGD.)
Despite little progress on an ambitious wafer fab project, Vedanta's TFT LCD plan in partnership with Taiwan-based Innolux has been advancing, waiting for approval by the Indian government.
With more smartphones featuring OLED displays, related OLED display driver IC (DDI) demand from mobile phones is poised to further increase in 2024, according to industry sources in Taiwan.
Chinese panel makers BOE Technology and TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology (TCL CSOT) returned to profitability in the third quarter of 2023 while Taiwanese panel makers AUO and Innolux remained in the red.
Raydium Semiconductor, a display driver IC (DDI) specialist, continues to see its OLED DDIs chosen by new and existing clients for their new smartphone models. Growth in its OLED DDI sales would help mitigate the impact of a slowdown in orders for large-size and automotive display applications in the fourth quarter of 2023, according to the company.
Display driver IC (DDI) specialist Novatek Microelectronics expects sales across all market applications to register growth in 2024, with shipments resuming their typical business cycle, according to company president Steve Wang.
German company Merck announced that the Dusseldorf District Court in Germany has ruled that Beijing Bayi Space LCD Technology (Bayi Space) has infringed on Merck's LCD mixture patent and will be banned from selling LCD display products with the infringing liquid crystal (LC) mixture in Germany.
