China Beat South Korea in OLED Panel Shipments for Small Gadgets

China defeated Korea for the first time in small OLED shipment records.

Monday, April 29, 2024 10:01 AM UTC

According to The Korea Herald, this result triggered concerns that Korean manufacturers such as Samsung and LG Corp. may eventually be displaced in the market by their rival Chinese producers. Based on the data released by China-based market tracker Cinno Research on Monday, April 29, the local OLED shipments for IT gadgets such as mobile phones and tablet PCs reached 53.4% of the total from January to March, while Korea only secured 46.6%.

Cinno Research also indicated that the results of the Chinese OLED shipments increased by 15.6%. Based on company results, Samsung Display remained the leader in the market with a 41% market share. The research company said that even if Samsung's shipments fell by 12.3% on-year, it is still the leader in the display industry.

Chinese Display Makers on the Top List

Following Samsung, Chinese companies occupied the top spots in OLED shipments. China's BOE Technology secured 17.5% market share, Visionox had 11.6%, and CSOT had 10.1%. Other firms like Tianma took 9%, while South Korea's LG Display only managed 6%.

"It is important to understand that a large portion of China's shipments cover domestic demand. Chinese IT companies and smartphone suppliers are strategically choosing to use Chinese OLED panels," Yi Chong Hoon, UBI Research's chief executive officer, said in a statement.

Meanwhile, The Korea Economic Daily reported earlier this month that Samsung upped its smaller OLED workforce to repel its Chinese competitors in the display sector. Samsung increased its workforce for smaller organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels used for small information technology devices to deal with the fast ascent of its Chinese rivals like the BOE Technology Group Co.

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