China’s share of global LCD chip market to jump from zero to 12pc
China’s share of the global market for driver integrated circuits (ICs), the high-precision chips used for liquid crystal display (LCD) panels, is poised to rise from almost zero a few years ago to 12 per cent by 2018 as LCD production ramps up on the mainland.
Analysts said the domestic expansion in the design and manufacture of display driver chips is currently led by four mainland suppliers: Hong Kong-listed Solomon Systech and privately held firms NewVision, Galaxy Core and ViewSil.
The driver chips they make serve as essential components in thin-film transistor LCD panels – used on smartphones, tablets, laptops, desktop computer monitors and television sets – to generate signals that ensure the desired image resolution or text is shown on the screen.
“Although China only started producing TFT-LCD panels about a decade ago, the country has become the world’s third-largest producer on the back of government support and continued investment in manufacturing capacity,” said senior analyst Mark Li, lead author of a Bernstein report about China’s growing market for display driver chips.
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“We believe China’s driver IC supply chain will follow the lead of the LCD panel market and grow towards self-sufficiency,” Li said.