China’s largest display maker BOE trumped LG Display in 2019 to top the markets in terms of TV LCD panel area shipment, according to IHS Markit on Feb. 13.BOE has been the largest company to ship LCD panels for TVs since 2018, but this marks the first time it took the lead for area shipments, accord

Samsung SDI and battery cathode supplier EcoProBM will invest up to KRW 120 billion into establishing a joint venture this year. The two sides plan to complete a plant in Pohang before the year is out to begin producing next generation cathode in January, 2022.EcoProBM said in a regulatory filing on

In 2019, South Korea’s SK Innovation joined the ranks of the world’s top 10 makers of electric vehicle (EV) batteries, according to market research firm SNE Research. Among the 10 companies, the SK affiliate was the only one that doubled its growth on-year.At No.1 was China’s CATL with a 27.9% marke

South Korea’s EcoPro BM will be doubling its production of battery cathode this year to 59,000 tons, up from the 29,000 tons in 2019, according to the company on Feb. 7.In a fourth earnings report on this day, EcoPro BM said thanks to growing demand for EV battery cathode from battery maker SK Innov

Samsung Display is being supplied with key OLED material from Poongwon Precision – one of LG Display’s suppliers – according to industry sources on Feb. 7.Until now, Sewoo Incorporation has been the exclusive supplier of the material Open Metal Mask (OMM), which is a key component for producing smal

Samsung Electronics has placed high priority on securing smartphone parts amid the outbreak of the coronavirus, according to industry sources on Feb. 6.The tech giant also plans to adhere to its previous plans to go ODM for about a third of its smartphones this year, but some disruption is expected

South Korean battery makers refuted findings by a team of experts and government officials who announced on Feb. 6 that 4 out of 5 of the fires that occurred at Energy Storage Systems between August and October in 2019 were due to batteries.The investigative team said that a variety of defects in th

Growth in the global smartphone market will remain lackluster this year in the aftermath of the deadly coronavirus that has claimed more than 700 lives in China where it originated from, according to market research firm Strategy Analytics (SA).SA cut its growth forecasts by 2% from the previous 3%

China’s largest display maker BOE has temporarily halted the operations of its new Gen-10.5 LCD production line in Wuhan of Hubei amid the latest coronavirus outbreak, according to industry watchers on Feb. 5.Experts said the impact is unlikely to be too damaging, since the plant began operations on

Samsung Electronics will be applying LG Chem’s battery cells to all smartphones included in its Galaxy S20 lineup, the new flagship series to be revealed on March 6, industry sources said Feb. 5.This would mark the first time for LG Chem cells to be applied to the entire lineup. Samsung SDI will als

Samsung SDI has decided to form a joint venture with local battery cathode supplier EcoProBM in a move to secure a more stable supply of batter-manufacturing material for electric vehicles, according to industry sources on Feb. 6.A formal announcement is expected next week. Each company is likely ta

LG Chem will be shuttering its LCD glass substrate business before the year is out, according to the company on Feb. 3.“Based on calculations that the business would be difficult to turn around, we have reached the decision to shut down,” the company said in a regulatory filing. The division has so

Battery cathode maker EcoProBM has signed on with SK Innovation to supply up to KRW 2.7 trillion worth of cathode to South Korean battery maker SK Innovation, according to EcoProBM in a regulatory filing on Feb. 3.The firm also said it would be building a new plant in Pohang, exclusively for produci

LG Electronics will be releasing different tiers of 5G smartphones this year depending on the region and demographics, according to the company on Jan. 30. The high-end LG V60 ThinQ will be sold only in the North American and European markets.“We plan on focusing on different strategies for differen

Korean semiconductor testing equipment maker Uni-test has secured a Chinese memory chip company as a new client for burn-in testing equipment as it moves to diversify its portfolio, according to industry sources on Jan. 28.Uni-test is reportedly in last-stage talks, meaning that the firm may be supp

Chinese smartphone parts maker JNTC is to supply curved cover glass to Huawei’s premium smartphone P40 Pro, according to industry sources on Jan. 28. Back at home, JNTC is preparing to get listed on the tech-heavy Kosdaq market in March this year.The OLED panels for the P40 Pro will come from LG Dis

Samsung SDI has turned to micro-batteries for wireless earphones and plans to begin supplying to key clients within this year, the company said in a conference call after announcing its fourth quarter earnings report on Jan. 30.Most of the capex investment for the product will center in Göd of Hunga

South Korean chipmaker SK hynix has signed an agreement with Jiangsu Province’s Wuxi New Area – formerly Wuxi National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone – to invest 2 billion yuan (KRW 340 billion) on jointly creating an industrial cluster specializing in semiconductor development, according to Ch

The fixed trading prices of DDR4 1Gb 2133MHz prices rose 1.07% on-month to USD 2.84 in January, indicating a gradual increase in DRAM prices, helped by a limited increase in supplies by memory chip makers, according to DRAMeXchange on Jan. 31.This marks the first price rise in more than a year since

Concerns are rising about potential supply disruptions to the display-making facilities run by major firms such as BOE, CSOT and Tianma that are located in Wuhan, the Chinese city where the deadly Coronavirus has originated, according to Shenzhen Stock Exchange on Jan. 29.But the impact is expected