Digitimes reports that AU Optronics chairman Paul Peng has high hopes for the panel industry, as smartphone and TV brands bolster their inventories heading into the second half of 2018.
The company is currently using older-generation LCD fabs to produce panels for fishing boats, yachts and airplane cockpits. Meanwhile, its gaming panels currently account for a 50-60% share of the market, so AUO is expanding its efforts in the sector, Peng added.
Image: AU Optronics
He also touched on the significant reduction in panel prices that took place during the first half of the year, saying that handset and TV manufacturers will have spare capital to dedicate to product promotion as a result. Peng predicts that smartphone panel shipments will plateau in the second half of 2018, while panels for TV sets will grow significantly, as will those for IT, which are predicted to be the highest for three years.
AUO has also prepared contingency measures to deal with the impact of the US-China trade war. Peng is confident that the company will be able to cope with client demand.
