Samsung Display Starts Production of Smartphone Panels at India Factory

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Samsung Display has officially started producing small and medium-sized organic light-emitting diode (OLED) smartphone panels at its factory in Noida, India.

According to business circles and foreign media on the 20th, Samsung Display began smartphone panel production this month at its Noida factory located in Uttar Pradesh, northern India. A Samsung Display official confirmed, "We have been producing some panels (at the local factory) since this month." Although the total panel production capacity of the Noida factory has not been disclosed, it is expected to gradually increase production volume.

This factory was constructed early last year to supply display panels to Samsung Electronics' smartphone production base. With an investment of approximately 53.67 billion rupees (about 799 billion KRW), preparations have been underway aiming for operation in the first half of this year. In November last year, over 100 employees from Samsung Display and partner companies were dispatched to the site to complete factory construction work.

The panels produced this time will be supplied to the nearby Samsung Electronics smartphone production facility. Samsung Electronics invested 700 million USD in 2018 to build a factory in Noida. The Noida factory is the largest single production base for Samsung Electronics smartphones. With the ability to mass-produce from components to finished products in India, Samsung's local market penetration is expected to accelerate.

India, with a population of 1.3 billion, is considered the second-largest smartphone market after China. According to market research firm Canalys, Samsung Electronics recorded a 20% smartphone market share in India last year, ranking second behind the leader Xiaomi (27%).