Japan’s Alps and Nitto Denko also removed
China’s BOE has been removed from the official list of suppliers for this year of Samsung published by the South Korean tech giant.
Meanwhile, China’s Sunny Optical was newly added __ Japan’s Alps Electric, Nitto Denko, and Rohm were also noticeably absent.
Samsung publishes its list of suppliers biannually as part of its sustainability policy. The supplier must agree to be on the list. Some companies that are suppliers to Samsung may not be included at the request of the supplier or Samsung’s own procurement team.
These suppliers must be verified by a third-party organization approved by the RBA; these suppliers take up a large portion of Samsung’s purchases.
BOE was on the 2020 list but is now noticeably absent. The company provides display panels for TVs and smartphones to Samsung. But Samsung had recently requested royalty payment for BOE’s advertisements that use Samsung’s name which was refused. Since this dispute, Samsung’s purchase of liquid crystal display (LCD) panels from BOE has dipped while those from CSOT and LG Display have gone up.
Meanwhile, Sunny Optical was added to the 2022 list. The company supplies lens and camera modules used in Samsung smartphones.
The Chinese vendor is likely welcomed by Samsung as it gives it leverage to cut the unit prices from South Korean module suppliers and Taiwan’s Largan Precision.
Sunny Optical’s revenue from Samsung matches those of the top five South Korean camera module suppliers, sources said.
The Chinese company will be supplying two back camera modules for the Galaxy S23 Ultra launching next year.
Japan’s Alps Electric, Nitto Denko, and Rohm were on the 2020 list but are now absent from the 2022 list.
Meanwhile, Samsung’s own fab equipment subsidiary Semes was newly added. Hansol Technix was also newly added. KHVatec, which supplies the hinges for foldable smartphones, and Simmtech, which supplies chipboards, were also added.
Jahwa Electronics, which had entered Apple’s supply chain, also remained on Samsung’s 2022 list. The company provides components used in smartphone cameras for image stabilization.
