What They Say
We reported yesterday on a story from China that said that BOE is supplying OLEDs to Samsung Electronics and now Gizmo China reports that CSOT (TCL) will supply OLEDs to the firm. The information was originally reported by Digitimes, but was confirmed by the China Securities Journal. The firm is said to be supplying more than 15% of the LCD panels needed by Samsung and that Samsung is CSOT’s second biggest customer.
What We Think
Tied supply chains always cause tensions. If Samsung Electronics has only one supplier it’s hard to negotiate at all, and it is vulnerable to production issues. It’s no surprise to see moves to widen the supplier base. However, Samsung Display has worked hard to stay well ahead of its display rivals, so it may be some time before additional suppliers become a big part of the high end of Samsung’s smartphone range, if they ever do. (BR)
