[THE INVESTOR] South Korean display-makers such as Samsung Display and LG Display will maintain their lead in the organic light-emitting diode sector for the next decade, according to a market research firm.

“Samsung Display and LG Display will be leading the OLED market for up to 10 years,” said Ricky Park, director of IHS at the OLED Frontier Forum held in Seoul on July 5.
 

“Unlike liquid-crystal displays, OLED requires years of investment and high production expertise, so Chinese displays companies, which are recently making investments in the OLED sector, will have difficulty catching up with the Korean firms,” Park said.

However, things are not all rosy for local firms. As more companies are expected to join the OLED fray, the two display giants, along with the Korean equipment suppliers, will need to brace for some heated competition down the road, according to experts at the forum.

Some Chinese display-makers, including BOE, are mulling to scrap an investment plan for LCD, to instead beef up OLED production as more smartphone and TV manufacturers are turning their eyes to OLED displays.

“Compared to global equipment suppliers, Korea’s small- and medium-sized firms appear to be sort of disorganized as they lack a roadmap for technology development, and also need to map out investment for executing large-scale projects,” said Roh Cheol-lae, vice president of Samsung Display’s equipment development team.

“Domestic suppliers also need to expand partnerships with global firms to exchange and develop core technologies,” he added.

On the LCD front, Chinese display-makers have been pouring their resources into bolstering LCD businesses to pose a real threat to their Korean rivals.

The LCD production capacity of Chinese display firms will likely surpass the combined production volume of Samsung Display and LG Display in the latter half of 2017, according to IHS.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)