Foldable display market expected to reach 10 trillion won in 2022

The global market value for foldable display panels is expected to grow over 10 trillion won by 2022, due to the launch of foldable smartphones by Samsung Electronics and Huawei and the technology being increasingly applied in other IT devices such as tablets and laptops. The market revenue is also expected to see an exponential growth with display manufacturers starting to produce foldable panels in large quantities.

Display Supply Chain Consultants (DSCC), a U.S.-based industry tracker, said in its report published early this month that the production volume of foldable display will be 3.1 million units in 2019, and will grow by 20 times by 2022 to reach 63 million units. Revenue will rise at a compound annual growth rate of 151 percent to reach 8.9 billion dollars (around 10.13 trillion won) in 2022. “Costs and prices fall and availability improves, enabling the foldable panels to expand into tablets and other gadgets,” DSCC said, adding that it will also affect the supply and demand of OLED displays.

“Foldable AMOLED displays are expected to comprise about 0.001 percent of flexible AMOLED shipments in 2018, rising to 6 percent in 2021,” another market researcher IHS also said.

Display manufacturers are expected to face tougher competition in the production of foldable panels. China-based BOE Technology Group and South Korea’s Samsung Display and LG Display are considered major players in the market to take the lead.


Jae-Hee Kim jetti@donga.com