(Yicai) Nov. 4 -- Visionox Technology, a major Chinese supplier of organic light-emitting diode display panels, is planning to bring in new investors, which may lead to a change in the company’s actual controller after years of continued losses. Industry insiders told Yicai that the new controlling party may be investment companies owned by local government.

Visionox, which currently has no actual controller, announced yesterday that it is considering introducing strategic investors and halted trading of its shares, with the suspension expected to last no more than two trading days.

The matter remains under discussion, the Beijing-based company said, without disclosing the names of the potential investors.

However, industry insiders said local government-backed investment firms are the most likely candidates, as Visionox’s core management team has previously acted in concert with state-owned shareholders in its Kunshan and Hefei factories.

Visionox has been unprofitable for several straight years, with deteriorating asset quality. Its financial report showed a net loss of CNY1.6 billion (USD224 million) in the first three quarters of this year. As of the end of September, its asset-liability ratio had risen to 84.4 percent, compared with 49.4 percent at the end of 2020.

Zhou Hua, chief analyst at Cinno Research, told Yicai that Visionox’s strength lies in its large OLED production capacity, while its main challenge is capital. Without a liquid-crystal display panel business and with a relatively small scale, Visionox has a hard time stabilizing earnings during market fluctuations, so it faces greater financial pressure, Zhou added.

Against the backdrop of major competitors accelerating investments in high-generation OLED panel production lines, Visionox risks widening its gap with rivals if it does not follow suit.

Chen Jun, chief analyst at Sigmaintell, told Yicai that Samsung and BOE’s 8.6th-generation OLED production lines are expected to begin mass production in the second quarter of 2026, while TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology’s new line is projected to start in the second half of 2027. In contrast, the mass production schedule for the new-generation OLED project in which Visionox has a stake remains unclear.

In this increasingly competitive landscape, price wars among major OLED manufacturers are expected to intensify, squeezing profit margins and leading to stagnating revenue growth.

According to Omdia, global OLED display panel revenue is forecast to reach USD53 billion this year, slightly down from USD54 billion in 2024. As more 8.6th-generation OLED lines begin operation in the coming years, market competition will likely become even fiercer.

Data from Sigmaintell show that in the first half of this year, Visionox held a 9.1 percent global market share in smartphone OLED panels, ranking behind Samsung Electronics, BOE Technology Group, Tianma Microelectronics, and TCL China Star Optoelectronics. A year earlier, its market share stood at 10.3 percent, placing it third worldwide.

Editors: Tang Shihua, Emmi Laine