Osram recently increased its investment portfolio in lighting control, energy management systems and software and acquired a technology company through an investment company. Today, this technology company has become part of OSRAM's general lighting. Through this acquisition, Osram hopes to expand and consolidate its business position in energy efficiency, and to further develop LED business.
In fact, many companies have seen the bright future of LED as an engine of growth. Of course there are also many Chinese companies. However, the development of China's LED industry is not smooth.
Global Market: Slightly "fatigued" in the second half of the year
Klaus-Günter Vennemann, CEO of Osram’s general lighting department, said: “Today, the global energy consumption for lighting accounts for 20% of the world’s electrical energy consumption. In the United States, the energy consumption of lighting accounts for 30 of the electrical consumption of commercial buildings. More than %, the demand for energy efficiency based on commercial buildings is also increasing."
Obviously, in the world market, the preference of various companies for the LED industry is not accidental. Wang Jianying, general manager of Aohua Energy Technology Consulting, told the author: “From energy saving to environmental protection, the LED industry has a revolutionary meaning. It is widely favored because it can save at least 3 times energy efficiency compared to traditional lighting. , LED industry in the process compared to the previous has also made great progress, with high luminous efficiency, low power consumption, long life, easy control, maintenance-free, safe and environmentally friendly features."
At present, due to the impact of the macro economy, the LED industry is not optimistic in the second half of this year, and downstream demand will carry a lot of industry pressure. He Zaihua, a senior research fellow at China Investment Consulting Co., Ltd., pointed out that due to the strengthening of global economic uncertainties, the demand outlook for LED terminals has been weakened. Manufacturers have reduced production capacity on a large scale and suppliers’ inventory days have also decreased. However, at the same time, due to the continuous shortening of the circulation cycle of channels, the efficiency has been greatly improved, the delivery time has generally shortened, and the waiting time of customers has decreased. Therefore, the current inventory status does not bring greater impact on the market. On the contrary, market flexibility Stronger.
Chinese companies: Struggling in the downstream market During the "12th Five-Year Plan" period, LED light source technology was included in China's strategic emerging industries. According to the statistics released by the National Semiconductor Lighting Engineering R&D and Industry Alliance (CSA), from January to July of this year, the total investment of China's LED industry is planned to reach 125.6 billion yuan. It is understood that the upstream substrate and epitaxial chips are the focus and focus of investment, and the momentum of the company's rushing forward has continued unabated.
However, although the LED industry has flourished on the surface, the industry's short board has emerged. Industry sources said that in the entire industry chain, the upper reaches of the highest profit returns, but the core patent technology in this area is in the hands of overseas giants such as Nichia, Cree, and Osram. In the field of epitaxial wafers and chips, U.S. and Japanese companies are monopolised and take more than 60% of profits. Most LED companies in China can only compete for less than 40% of the profits in the packaging industry at the end of the industry chain. To make matters worse, even if it is the only remaining downstream market, Chinese companies are not so comfortable.
"The downstream market is clearly not open." He Zaihua told the author that LED products from Chinese companies rely more on the municipal government's municipal projects for their digestion. Expensive prices have made it difficult for LED to enter the civilian market. Affected by the weak international market, the export of Chinese LED products also suffered poorly. In the case of unfavorable demand stimulus, the decline in the price of LED products has become the main performance of the market. From the current investment plans of various manufacturers, in the next two to three years, China's LED industry will experience a large-scale release of production capacity, and with the localization of products. With the increase of the rate, the decline in the prices of products at various stages will be the long-term trend of the market.
Mastering key technologies is the key Although the development path is not smooth, the development characteristics of China's LED industry are being developed from the downstream to the upstream, and relying on a strong industrial background, there are still hopes that breakthroughs will be hampered.
Now, with the first batch of cities driving the industry gradually into the mature track, new markets are gradually emerging. Zhang Yanlin, research director of China Investment Consulting Co., Ltd. pointed out that some domestic provinces and cities have carried out urban lighting energy conservation activities through financial support measures, which not only provides unlimited business opportunities for the LED lighting market, but also creates a corresponding market environment for the development of the LED industry.
Wang Jianying believes that China is the world's largest LED production base and its development speed is very fast, and its price advantage is also reflected. "Although China does not currently import LED, it is arguably the world's largest LED exporter. Now, what we need to pay attention to is to develop and own our own technology. Only by mastering core technologies can we have a better and longer-lasting experience in this industry. Development can only be led by foreign companies forever."
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