The surge in demand for home entertainment since the COVID pandemic has led Samsung to change its decision regarding the production of liquid crystal display panels for TVs and monitors. Previously, in March, the South Korean tech giant announced that it would end up all the LCD production by the year-end and will focus more on advanced technology. But the sudden surge in demand for the LCDs led the company to reconsider its decision, and now the production will continue for an indefinite period as long as the production is profitable.
As per sources, the global lockdown trend sparked by the COVID pandemic led to a 30% quarter-on-quarter (QOQ) spike in the worldwide LCD panel demand in the 3rd quarter of the year amidst a massive demand for Televisions and notebooks. To cope up with this spike in demand, the company is seeking a long-term extension of the LCD production.
Earlier, Samsung had manufactured LCD panels in China as well as South Korea, but this year it is an exception; the company had sold most of its share in its Suzhou LCD production unit to China Star Optoelectronics Technology unit of TCL Group.
However, the firm is also worried about its rival Chinese firms producing similar LCDs and thus stated that the “influx of more production from Chinese LCD makers may worsen a supply glut of the company next year.”