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| Samsung Display's manufacturing plant in Asan, South Chungcheong Province. Korea Times file |
By Lee Kyung-min
Samsung Display has decided to close its liquid-crystal display (LCD) business in June, hobbled by a declining global competitive edge due to cheaper products made by its Chinese and Taiwanese counterparts, according to the industry, Sunday. No investment plan details have since been announced.
The decision by the display affiliate of Samsung Group came six months sooner than expected, due in large part to rapid losses from falling LCD prices.
According to Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), a U.S. market research firm, the average price index of LCD panels, measured against 100 in January 2014, will fall to 36.6 in September of this year. The figure has dropped farther from the record low of 41.5 in April of this year, and 58 percent lower than the record high of 87 in June 2021.
Also factored in was Samsung Electronics, the largest buyer of Samsung Display products, partnering with overseas LCD suppliers, including BOE Technology Group, a Chinese electronic components producer and AU Optronics Corp. (AUO), a Taiwanese LCD panel maker.
The display affiliate initially sought to close its LCD business in late 2020, but the plan was delayed at the request of its parent company, Samsung Electronics, due to a sudden spike in LCD prices amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Samsung Display will no longer produce LCDs used for large TV screens and focus instead on manufacturing organic light-emitting diode (OLED) and quantum dot (QD) displays. The employees of the LCD businesses are expected to be transferred to the QD businesses.
The display affiliate was first formed in 1991, as an LCD business arm under Samsung Electronics. It formally launched in 2012 as Samsung Display and has since merged with three local and Japanese makers of active matrix organic light-emitting diodes (AMOLED), for the production of advanced types of displays.
Samsung Display was unavailable for comment.
