What They Say
UBI Research of Korea published a press release that said that there is a possibility that the investment in BOE’s B16 8.7G OLED line located in Chengdu will be further delayed. A member of the State Assets Commission, Beijing Municipal government’s regulations on BOE Group is the cause.
Staffing for the line had been organised and a site secured near the Chengdu B7 line. Equipment orders were expected around now, but have been put on hold as the Beijing city authorities are trying to control the BOE group from investing outside Beijing.
The firm is currently preparing to invest in B20, a G6 LTPS LCD line in Beijing and UBI said that ‘some speculate’ that B20 was planned to get approval for B16. However, the political situation has changed in Beijing.
What We Think
Although UBI said that B20 is an LTPS LCD line, our friends at DSCC have said that it expects the fab to make LTPS backplanes for microLEDs used in AR/VR/MR and has been subsidised by the Chinese national government. The firm has previously reported that team members recruited for B16 have been transferred to B20. B16 has been said to be aiming at Apple’s potential iPad and other IT OLED business from 2024, although earlier this year it was unclear if B16 would support LTPO as Samsung and LGD are expected to have in their lines supplying Apple. (BR)Ross Young showed this roadmap at Display Week which put BOE as then on track for around 2025 with its G8.7 fab
