Recently, news of "Samsung selling its Chinese LED business" spread like wildfire throughout the LED industry, causing quite a stir. However, it turned out to be a false alarm, as Samsung LED's Deputy President, Tan Changlin, quickly denied the news the following day. What other exciting events unfolded in the LED industry this week? Read on to find out.

【Industry News】

Samsung LED Denies Exit from Chinese Market and Sale of Tianjin Plant

According to recent reports from South Korean media outlets, such as the Korea Herald and The Bell, Samsung LED was said to be selling its Tianjin plant and operations in China to a private equity firm based in Hong Kong. Samsung LED's Executive Vice President / Deputy BU head, Tan Changlin, specifically and firmly denied this news.

Philips' Plant Lighting Enters the Russian Market

According to LIGHTimes On-Line, Philips Lighting intends to supply LED grow lights to LLC Agro-Invest, a Russian greenhouse agricultural company, for cultivating tomatoes and cucumbers in a greenhouse covering approximately 25 hectares (roughly equivalent to 40 football fields).

Infit Electronics Plans Major Asset Restructuring, Transaction Exceeds 500 Million!

Infit Electronics (Hangzhou) Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "Company") has been suspended from trading since June 5th due to "planning major matters." On June 19th, with a notice regarding the suspension of trading due to major asset restructuring, details of the restructuring target gradually emerged. According to the announcement, the company is planning to acquire assets by paying cash, and the target company's main products are new energy vehicle charging equipment and LED display screen power supplies. The estimated transaction amount is approximately RMB 500 million to 1 billion.

Total Investment of 1 Billion! New Automotive Lighting Plant of a Fortune 500 Company Begins Production

On June 20th, a new automotive lighting system factory of the Fortune 500 company Marelli Group began production in Changchun Economic Development Zone, with an estimated annual output value exceeding 2 billion yuan. The new Changchun Marelli automotive lighting system factory is its ninth factory in China, with a total investment of 1 billion yuan. It mainly produces the world's most advanced LED automotive lighting products. This project will provide parts for car manufacturers such as FAW-Volkswagen, Brilliance BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Volvo, and is expected to achieve an annual output value exceeding 2 billion yuan after reaching full production capacity.

Sailong Targets Automotive Lighting and Education, Investment Close to 40 Million

Recently, Guangdong Sailong Optoelectronic Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as the "Company," "the Company," or "Sailong") has issued two announcements of external investment, further expanding into the automotive lighting and education fields, involving a total amount of nearly 40 million yuan.

62.89 Million! Optoelectronic Subsidiary Wins Major Lighting Project

Optoelectronics announced on the morning of June 22 that its wholly-owned subsidiary, Shenzhen Qianbaihui Lighting Engineering Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Qianbaihui"), recently received a "Notice of Winning the Bid" from the Ningbo Municipal Government Engineering Pre-construction Office. The notice confirmed that Qianbaihui won the bid for section V of the "Zhongshan Road Along-Line Building Landscape Lighting Improvement Project" in Ningbo.

JD.com and Mitsubishi Chemical Partner in Vegetable Cultivation, Investing Nearly 50 Million in a Plant Factory

JD.com will build a plant factory of approximately 10,000 square meters in Beijing's Tongzhou District, which is scheduled to be put into operation before the spring of 2018. The investment will reach approximately 800 million Japanese yen (approximately 49.16 million RMB). Mitsubishi Chemical will provide hydroponic cultivation systems and provide technical guidance on seed selection, sowing, harvesting, and packaging, including hygiene management and vegetable production record management.

【Market Trends】

Everlight: Optimistic About the Explosion of Demand for Small-Pitch Screens, Slowdown in Price Reduction of Blue LED in the Second Half of the Year

At Everlight's shareholders' meeting on June 16th, Chairman Ye Yin Fu stated that due to the fierce competition in China's continuous investment in the LED industry, Everlight will continue to eliminate low-margin orders. This year, non-blue LED applications will exceed blue LED applications in lighting and backlighting for the first time, and with the surge in demand for small-pitch displays, the price of blue LEDs is expected to ease in the second half of the year.

Epistar: Blue Light Prices May Face Pressure in the First Half of Next Year, Q3 CSP Shipments Expected to Rise

Due to strong demand for LED lighting in the first half of the year, Epistar's production capacity was fully utilized. Looking ahead to the second half of the year, there are no worries about orders in July and August. However, with new production capacity from Chinese manufacturers being launched, although still in the learning curve stage, and with the off-season in the first half of next year, blue light prices may face pressure.

LED Lighting Applications Gradually Expand, China's Market Size to Reach Trillions in 2020

Recently, at a side event of the 8th Clean Energy Ministerial Meeting - the Global Lighting Challenge Forum, 12 Chinese semiconductor lighting companies, including Mlight, Shanghai Sansi Electronic Engineering Co., Ltd., and Shengdi Optoelectronics Technology Co., Ltd., voluntarily submitted a commitment: to sell a total of 3.29 billion LED lamps and 5.77 million LED streetlights over the next two years.

【Micro LED】

Epistar's Li Bingjie: Micro LED for Wearables and VR Applications Achievable Within 1-2 Years

At Epistar's shareholders' meeting on June 21st, Chairman Li Bingjie said in a pre-meeting interview that Micro LED can be regarded as a predecessor to Mini LED. Globally, only Epistar and Osram can simultaneously supply RGB three-color LEDs, and Epistar can seize the opportunities.

Experts: Three Major Challenges Facing Current Micro LED Display R&D

Does Micro LED have the potential to become the mainstream display technology? Experts believe that there are three major challenges in the current R&D of Micro LED displays: mass transfer technology, current control, and compatibility with the existing LCD/LCD industry chain.

VueReal Develops 6000ppi Micro-LED Display, Mass Production in 2018

According to foreign media PRNewswire, Canadian company VueReal recently developed a 4K micro-LED display with a pixel density of 6000 PPI (Pixels Per Inch), setting a record for the highest PPI in emission displays. VueReal plans to complete verification and evaluation this year and provide samples to interested customers before October 2017. VueReal will begin mass production of this display in 2018 to meet niche customer needs and license its technology to display manufacturers.

Micro LED Attracts Attention, Taiwan's LED Leaders Weigh In!

The LED industry lacks new topics this year, but with Hon Hai's cooperation with Radiant Opto-Electronics, Innolux, and Sharp's acquisition of eLux shares, Micro LED has been highly touted. In fact, not only mass transfer and inspection equipment remain technical bottlenecks; moreover, panel manufacturers and LED manufacturers are working independently, and future supply chain integration is also a major issue. It is generally believed that the real mass production of Micro LED will likely take at least another 3-5 years.

Innolux is deploying next-generation display technologies, developing MiniLED and MicroLED simultaneously

Innolux is deploying next-generation display technology. Ding Jinglong, Executive Vice President and Head of Technology Development Center, stated that Innolux is developing MiniLED and MicroLED simultaneously. MiniLED can achieve irregular cutting and curved surfaces, and there is an opportunity for mass production and shipment in 1-2 years. On the other hand, they also announced their foray into fingerprint recognition, with plans for mass production of the world's first heat-sensing flexible fingerprint sensor in the third quarter.

Epistar is optimistic about Micro LED, expecting it to contribute to revenue within five years

Major global system manufacturers and panel makers are enthusiastic about Micro LED, investing heavily in R&D. Epistar Chairman Li Bingjie is optimistic about the success of this technology, believing it will develop from augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) to wearable devices, mobile phones, and large-size panels. He estimates that it will contribute to Epistar's revenue within five years.