Chinese display panel manufacturer BOE Technology overtook Samsung Display for the first time to become the world’s largest smartphone panel vendor in 2019, according to a report by market research firm CINNO Research.

Last year, BOE shipped 413 million smartphone panels across the world, giving the company a global market share of 22.2%. Samsung Display came in second with 21.2%, the report showed.

BOE’s jump to the top spot came amid an overall contraction in the global smartphone panel market. According to the report, global handset panel shipments dropped 2.6% year-on-year to about 1.86 billion units in 2019, representing the third consecutive year that shipments have declined. CINNO Research attributed the fall to a weaker demand for smartphones and the control of 4G-enabled phone inventory.

Comparatively, Chinese mainland players reversed the declining trend by growing their smartphone panel shipments by 16% in 2019, the report said, adding that shipments on the Chinese mainland accounted for 53.2% of the global total last year.

However, the growing momentum may not carry over to 2020. The report said that China’s panel makers could suffer supply chain disruptions as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, which has paralyzed factory production in large parts of the country.

CINNO Research said it expects China’s smartphone sales to drop to 300-320 million units in 2020 assuming the epidemic is under control by the end of April.

Previously, research firm Strategy Analytics predicted that China’s smartphone shipments may nosedive 30% to 62.3 minion units in the first quarter this year due to the coronavirus.

Contact reporter Ding Yi (yiding@caixin.com)

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