(Yicai) Sept. 4 -- Chinese mainland companies accounted for more than half of the global display panel industry’s revenue in the first half of the year for the very first time, according to a new report.

Chinese mainland panel makers had combined revenue of USD29.3 billion in the six months ended June 30, up about 7 percent from a year earlier, swelling their global market share to 52.1 percent from 48.8 percent, the report by market research and consulting firm Cinno Research showed.

Taiwan-based panel makers increased their revenue 4.4 percent for a market share of 13.2 percent, up from 12.6 percent.

BOE Technology Group led the pack with an 8.5 percent jump in revenue to CNY101.3 billion (USD14.2 billion), ranking the Beijing-based company in the top tier for revenue along with South Korea’s Samsung Display and LG Display.

TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology, which made it into the second tier, posted revenue of CNY50.4 billion (USD7.1 billion), up 14 percent. The mainland’s Tianma Microelectronics and HKC, as well as Taiwan’s AU Optronics and Innolux, were all in the third tier, with revenues in excess of USD2 billion each.

South Korean panel producers saw their revenue fall 9.5 percent, with their market share sliding to 30 percent from 33.2 percent. Income at Japanese peers plunged 17 percent, as their share dropped to 3.5 percent from 4.2 percent.

Samsung Display still dominates the industry by operating profit, but its edge over TCL CSOT and BOE has weakened. In fact, first-half profits at the three were around USD600 million, basically placing them in the same tier, the report noted.

Meanwhile, South Korea’s LG Display pared its loss to USD60 million from USD425 million after selling its liquid crystal display panel factory in the Chinese city of Guangzhou and improving its organic light-emitting diode business.

Looking to the second half of the year, Cinno Research expects the mainland’s display panel market to see structural growth, fueled by growing demand for bigger screens and higher shipments of higher-value products such as Mini LED, OLED, and AI-enhanced displays.

Editor: Tang Shihua, Futura Costaglione