Import tariffs on LCD panels increased: pressure from machine manufacturers increased sharply

More than half of the panel tariffs raised after the brewing of the matter finally settled down.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Finance issued a notice, and approved by the State Council, will adjust the provisional tariff rates on imports of liquid crystal display panels, camera eyepieces and other four commodities, and implement them from April 1 this year.

According to the notice, 32-inch and above liquid crystal display panels without backlight modules will cancel the provisional tax rate, and the MFN tax rate in 2012 will be 5%. Prior to this, mainland China imported panel tariffs with a border of 32 inches, tariff rates below 5% were 5%, and taxes of 32 inches and above were 3%.

People in the industry pointed out that the adjustment of panel import tariffs not only benefits the growth of domestic high-end panel projects such as BOE and TCL, but also forces the South Korean and Chinese Taiwanese industries to further transfer to mainland China. However, the long-term dependence on imported panels will not affect the overall pressure of the enterprises. small.

"One stone and more birds"

As far as the panel purchases of color TVs in mainland China are concerned, Taiwan Chi Mei and AUO account for the largest proportion, about 50%, Korean companies about 40%, and very few of them are purchased from Japanese companies.

Zhang Yu, vice president of BOE believes that the previous 3% of the import tariff is too low, in the case of the original domestic LCD panel line, this tariff is to reduce the cost of the entire machine, but with BOE, Huaxing photoelectric production, need protection The birth of the domestic high generation line.

Li Dongsheng, chairman of TCL, also said that China's panel import tariffs lower than India, Brazil, Russia and other countries, China's competent authorities to raise tariffs, will be conducive to the development of the domestic panel industry.

At present, the global panel industry is devastated. Whether Samsung display business unit, LGD (LG Display), or panel giants AUO, Chi Mei, and other panel giants' financial reports, they all broke news of losses.

The domestic panel company, BOE, has been operating losses for several consecutive years. Luo Qingqi, a senior director of Pare Consultancy, said that the cost of importing panels from domestic color TV manufacturers will increase, so orders from BOE, TCL and Changhong panel makers are expected to increase. .

The South Korean companies Samsung and LGD, which are most affected by tariff adjustment, have moved to set up factories in China in order to seize the Chinese market and evade the impact of higher panel import tariffs. Not long ago, the LG Display (LGD) Guangzhou 8.5-generation LCD panel project was delayed for more than a year, while the Samsung Suzhou 7.5-generation line rose to the 8.5-generation line waiting for Chinese government approval. Li Qiuwei, deputy general manager of the AVC Industry Chain Center, expects that the increase in tariffs will accelerate the speed of the production of both factory panels in China.

Machine manufacturers pressure

The days of TV manufacturers are not that good. Gu Zhihua, Director of the Flat Panel Display Center at Fudan University, told China Business News that at least 70% of panel purchases for TVs in China currently come from panel makers such as Korea and Taiwan, and TV makers’ profit margins are not high. The pressure on them after the tariff increase can be imagined.

Yesterday, Li Cong, director of the Brand Committee of Skyworth Group and spokesperson for the press conference, wanted to tell reporters that the biggest impact of tariff adjustment on TV makers is rising costs. "The purchase of the panel accounts for about 70% of the cost of the whole machine. If the price rises by 2%, the cost pressure will not be small. Take 2010 as an example, the average net profit of domestic color TV companies is only about 2%, leaving only a price increase. A little profit is almost eaten."

“Cost increases will bring a series of chain reactions,” Li said. “In the long run, it is not ruled out that the upstream panel makers themselves also have competitive pressures. The rising costs may be borne by the upstream panel or the whole machine, and may also be ultimately caused by consumption. The buyer pays the bill."

Gu Zhihua also believes that tariff adjustments come a bit early. “At present, the advantages of several domestic panel makers have not been fully utilized. The ramp-up period has not yet been completed, nor does it have the ability to guarantee sufficient production capacity. It is expected that the further increase of tariffs in the third quarter of this year will benefit the development of the industry.”