Digitimes of Taiwan has reported that China Star Optoelectronics Technology (CSoT) is planning to build a G6 flexible OLED production line with a monthly capacity of 45,000 substrates. The blog quotes sina.com as the source of the story.
The report suggests timing of the start of production in mid-2019 with volume ramping up a year later and with a range of sizes from 3″ to 12″ being produced. The report also said that the cover glass would be flexible.
The total investment for the project is said to be $5 billion.
Analyst Comment
At the moment, CSOT, which is part of the TCL group, doesn’t even register on the charts as an AMOLED supplier with a single digit share, although the company started trial production of AMOLEDs in 2014 with a plan to be in volume production by 2016. If this report is correct (and we were unable to confirm it at the time of writing), it would be an ambitious target, but as CSOT is investing in the second >G10 line in China already, it cannot be said to be short of ambition. DSCC has forecast that CSOT could get to 3% of the market for OLED smartphone panels by 2021, after ramping up in 2020. Certainly, there is unlikely to be a shortage of demand. With Samsung and Apple tying up almost all the capacity for flexible displays, the problem for high end Chinese smartphone makers that want to compete using that kind of technology.
Now, of course, Samsung Display has an investment in CSOT, to secure LCD supply. It seems unlikely, however, that it would want to help CSOT to develop its competitiveness to Samsung’s own dominance of small and flexible OLEDs. (BR)
CSOT’s first factory in Shenzen
