In 2014, the production capacity of the mainland e

In the first quarter of 2014, China flat panel display industry research forum was held in Shanghai recently. According to its released data, 15 panel lines have been built in China, and it is expected that there will be 8 to be completed in 2016. At that time, the cumulative investment will exceed 340 billion. Last year, the import of domestic panels fell for the first time. It is expected that the self-sufficiency rate of tablets will reach more than 50% next year.
Reporters learned from the forum that only Chinese mainland had new investment plans before 2017. Conference organizer Qunzhi consulting believes that the R & D of display technology has entered a bottleneck period, the overall price of panel still shows a downward trend this year, and the price of downstream smart TV will be further explored.
The price war will continue to the high end
"By the end of 2013, the total number of 5 generation of panel production lines in the world has totaled 60, with a total investment of 200 billion US dollars, and 15 Chinese mainland investment and a total investment of 180 billion RMB. We expect that by 2016, China will also build 8 panel production lines with 23 cumulative production lines and a total investment of more than 340 billion RMB." Hu Chunming, director of Industry Research Department of liquid crystal branch of China Optical and Optoelectronic Industry Association, said at the forum that panel imports fell month on month for the first time in 2013.
With the great leap forward in investment, there are concerns about overcapacity. Reporters learned from the forum that by 2016 Chinese mainland panel production capacity will surpass Taiwan and become the second in the world. Recently, it is reported that Samsung also plans to increase its investment in panels, and the new investment is also concentrated in the factory in Suzhou, China. However, Samsung told reporters that the news was untrue and did not further explain the investment plan. Korean enterprises attach great importance to the mainland market. Another Korean enterprise LGD is vigorously promoting OLED. Because its wrgboled technology can greatly reduce the cost, Skyworth, Konka and Changhong have purchased their panels to push OLED TVs.
Bao Mingfang, senior research manager of Qunzhi consulting, said that the competitive focus of panel plants has shifted from capacity investment to investment in cutting-edge technologies, so the expansion direction of capacity has gradually shifted from large size to small and medium size. At the same time, the capacity growth of global LTPS (low temperature polycrystalline silicon) is concentrated in China, and the mass production of many LTPS capacity will dilute the profit margin of high-end small and medium-sized panels. The competition in the large-scale field is more intense. Since the second half of last year, the price of TV panel has fallen all the way. With the new production capacity of generation 8.5 line, the profits of the panel factory have been further compressed.
There is a hole upstream of the panel
The change of upstream industry seems to leave a gap for the price war of downstream complete machine enterprises. Last year, Internet companies entered the television industry, bringing a price avalanche. Li Yaqin, director of group intelligence consulting and research, said that the price of smart TV will be further lowered and the average size will be further improved. It said that China's smart TV has changed from hardware driven to content driven, and the focus of enterprises has also shifted from price and channel to content and users.
At the same time, Li Yaqin pointed out that in fact, there are unique holes in the upstream of the panel. The key core materials of the panel include substrate to liquid crystal, polarizer, etc. according to his introduction, the average profit of the panel factory is about 7%, the gross profit margin of the color TV manufacturer should be about 10% to 15%, and the net profit is lower. In contrast, as of 2013, the gross profit margin of glass substrate manufacturers was 65.6%, and that of liquid crystal materials was 30%. "The high gross profit margin has a lot to do with the oligopoly pattern in this field, and there is insufficient competition. In a word, this is a very high-value link." Its recommendations focus on investment opportunities in these areas.