Flat panel display industry will be supported by national policy

On October 11, 2014, China's flat panel display industry innovation and development strategy alliance seminar was held in Beijing. Former National People’s Congress Standing Committee Vice Chairman Jiang Zhenghua, National Development and Reform Commission, Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, Ministry of Science and Technology, China Securities Regulatory Commission and other relevant ministries, industry experts, representatives of the upstream and downstream companies in the flat panel display industry and other nearly 100 people attended the seminar. This seminar will create important topics such as "China's flat panel display industry strategic zone (China's flat panel display industry cluster zone)", construction of world-class "flat panel display national laboratory" and strategic financial innovation service strategic emerging industries from the national strategic level. In-depth discussion.

The reporter learned at the meeting that this is the first time China's flat panel display industry innovation development strategy symposium, the flat panel display industry will usher in national policy support, and the country will encourage domestic new display enterprises to pass international cooperation, mergers and acquisitions, and share advanced foreign companies. In other ways, through the introduction of digestion and absorption, to break through the core technologies of the new display industry; to encourage enterprises with independent intellectual property rights and good industrial foundations to invest in the construction of new display projects, or to integrate existing industrial resources through investment, mergers, etc., and to guide investment entities. Further concentration; focus on supporting conditional and basic enterprises in the development of industrial clusters and build an industrial cluster with international competitiveness.

Innovation and development have achieved initial success

The flat panel display industry is the pillar of the electronic information industry and belongs to the strategic basic industry. As the "food industry" of the electronic information industry, its level of development is an important embodiment of a country's scientific and technological strength and its international competitiveness.

Qiao Yueshan, Director of the Electronic Infrastructure Department of the Electronic Information Department of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said at the meeting that in recent years, China's display panel industry has been steadily improving in terms of industrial scale, technological level, innovation capability, and supporting construction of industrial chains, and the industrial development environment has been further improved and the industry has shown rapid development. The rare situation of growth and benign development is mainly manifested in three aspects:

First, the industrial scale continued to grow rapidly. In 2013, the scale of China's flat panel display industry reached 107 billion yuan, an increase of 44.6% year-on-year, and its global market share increased to 11.4%. The output of LCD panels was 20.88 million square meters, an increase of 27% over the same period of last year. The sales volume was 20.85 million square meters, and the entire industry achieved full-scale sales. The backbone enterprises such as BOE, China Star Optoelectronics and Tianma have achieved a total sales revenue of 62.3 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 41.6%, and a total profit of over 4 billion yuan.

The second is the initial success of innovation and development. The new generation of display technology in China has accelerated its layout. Xiamen's 5.5 generations of low-temperature polysilicon production lines and Ordos 5.5-generation AMOLED production lines have been put into operation; Oxide, four mask processes and other new technologies have gradually been introduced into the production line; and independent research and development of electronic design automation (EDA) The software has been adopted by a large number of backbone enterprises; large-size, ultra-high resolution 55-inch 4K×2K LCD TV panels have been mass-produced; TVs have successfully developed 30-inch or more active organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) panel samples.

The third is the gradual formation of localization support capabilities. Local LCD TV panel self-sufficiency rate exceeds 35%. China's backbone panel companies purchase local materials and equipment for over 15 billion yuan, driving nearly 100 upstream manufacturers.

From January to July 2014, China imported a total of US$24.825 billion worth of liquid crystal display panels, and exported US$18.130 billion. The trade deficit was US$6.695 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 22%.

In addition, Dongxu Group, as a benchmarking company for independent innovation in the flat panel display industry in China, relies on independent research and development to break through foreign technology blockades and has become a pioneer in the development of the national flat panel display industry and a model of independent innovation and development.

In 2009, Dongxu Group led investment, design and construction of the first domestic G5 liquid crystal glass substrate production line with complete independent intellectual property rights in Zhengzhou. In December 2010, it established the first domestic G4.5 generation 0.5mm ultrathin glass substrate in Chengdu. In the production line, these two production lines have passed the tests and certifications of third-party users in less than one year, and are used in the same line with similar foreign products.

Currently, Dongxu Group has built and is currently constructing a total of 12 generations of 4.5-generation and 5-generation LCD glass substrate production lines, and 10 6th generation (compatible with 5.5th generation) TFT-LCD glass substrate production lines with an annual designed total production capacity of 15 million pieces. The five generations of domestic glass substrate industry represented by Zhengzhou Xufei and the domestic LCD glass sixth generation industrial group represented by Wuhu Dongxu have been formed.

Industry faces severe challenges

Although China's flat panel display industry has achieved initial success, there is still a long way to go before building a flat panel display industry. Gao Tiesheng, vice president of the China Productivity Association, said that key raw materials for the upper reaches of the panel industry, such as glass substrates, liquid crystal materials, polarizers, color filters, and optical films, have been monopolized by the US, Japan and South Korea, constraining the rapid development of the flat panel display industry in China. It also affected the bargaining power of domestic panel makers, and the demand for domestic matching was strong. Although the relevant departments have issued a series of policies supporting the flat panel display industry, these policies have not fundamentally solved and resolved the plight of the flat panel display industry.

Qiao Yueshan also said that in the next three years, China's new display industry will enter a very critical period. After the flat-panel display industry has completed its basic layout, it faces a series of issues such as how to achieve sustained profitability, enter a virtuous cycle, and form endogenous mechanisms. If these problems are not solved, it is possible that the entire industry will be lost.

He believes that the flat-panel display industry faces three challenges. First, TVs, smart phones, and tablet PCs have fallen from a period of high growth rates and gradually entered a period of steady growth; new consumer hotspots such as wearable devices are also driving the industry. Wait and see. Second, after the completion of several high-generation pipelines, the production capacity has been steadily released. The new relationship between supply and demand is being constructed. It is also necessary to continuously improve the quality and efficiency of industrial development, boost investor confidence, and attract more financial support. Third, more than 90% of the high-generation TFT-LCD panel production lines under construction and under construction in China are still dependent on imports for their process equipment and more than 70% of their spare parts and materials. Compared with the construction of the panel line, China's industrial chain is still not perfect, and upgrading the ability to display the industry's supporting industrial chain is more complicated and arduous than building a production line.

Li Zhaoting, deputy chairman of the National People's Congress and chairman of Dongxu Group, said that in order to develop the flat panel display industry, China must integrate one or two companies in the entire industry chain to avoid internal consumption by domestic companies and cause enormous waste of scientific and technological personnel and funds. In view of the current situation in the country, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology should be quickly led to integrate Dongxu Group, Lenovo Group and other companies, make overall arrangements, carry out restructuring and integration, capital alliances, industrial technology alliances, etc. Meanwhile, special funds from the central government support the establishment of world-class laboratories and R&D centers. Gradually cultivate large enterprises with strong competitiveness and build giants and aircraft carriers in China's electronic information industry.

National policy will focus on supporting the agglomeration of advantageous enterprises

For the severe situation faced by the flat panel display industry, Jiang Zhenghua suggested that top-level design, advanced deployment, and intensive investment should be focused on supporting several outstanding companies, making them stronger and better and becoming flagship enterprises, thereby accelerating the global rise of the flat panel display industry in China.

He proposed the creation of four strategic zones, namely the Bohai Rim Flat Panel Display Industry Cluster, the Yangtze River Delta Flat Panel Display Industry Cluster, the Pearl River Delta Flat Panel Display Industry Cluster, and the Midwest Flat Panel Display Industry Cluster. By constructing the “China flat panel display industry cluster area”, the flat panel display industry will be upgraded to a higher national strategic height. This is a reasonable protection for China’s national flat panel display industry, and it is a major support and promotion for the development of upstream and downstream companies in the flat panel display industry in China. Initiatives.

Qiao Yueshan said that at present, it is necessary to speed up industrial transformation and upgrading, and shift the development focus of China's new display industry from accelerating the construction of production lines to improving the quality and efficiency of development. The following tasks should be focused on:

The first is to focus more on innovation-driven and strengthen capacity building for sustainable development. Promote enterprises to increase investment in R&D, increase product technology content, and increase the yield rate and technological level of established production lines. Encourage domestic new display companies to adopt the methods of international cooperation, mergers and acquisitions, and participation in advanced foreign companies, through the introduction of digestion and absorption, and breakthrough the core technologies of the new display industry. Lead backbone enterprises to carry out joint R&D of key core technologies and establish results sharing mechanisms.

The second is to pay more attention to resource integration and promote resource aggregation to enhance overall efficiency. Strengthen the planning and layout, reasonably determine the capacity development goals based on market capacity, and prevent blind construction and low-level construction. Encourage enterprises with independent intellectual property rights and good industrial foundations to invest in the construction of new types of display projects, or integrate existing industrial resources through investment, mergers, and other methods to guide the further concentration of investment entities.

The third is to pay more attention to the improvement of the industrial chain and guide the industry to the high end of the value chain. We will focus on supporting conditional and basic enterprises in the development of industrial clusters and create industrial clusters with international competitiveness. Encourage multiple cooperation between panels and supporting companies. Actively guide the panel to strengthen horizontal cooperation among enterprises and achieve mutual trust and mutual recognition of upstream products.