HB-LEDs Poised for Growth

Recently, there were two contrasting news. One, coming out of Taiwan, and the other from Strategy Analytics. While the first one indicated that the LED chip and packaging makers in Taiwan seemed to be out of synchronization in Q4, the other reported that the HB-LEDs (high-brightness LEDs) market poised for rapid growth in 2010 and beyond.

There is also a third, which has significant impact for India. More of that in a little while!

First, to the latter news: The shaky Q4 quarter for LEDs notwithstanding, the HB-LEDs market did manage to grow at around 11 percent during 2008. This would get offset by a likely drop of 3.7 percent in 2009. Nevertheless, it would not really hit the HB-LED market segments. The reason being, some of the more mature segments – mobile phones, automotive lighting, etc., are already undergoing downturns. The emerging segments such as TV backlights and backlights for LCD displays in notebooks are, well, going quite strong. So, there does lie hope!

Now, to the first one -- in Taiwan. The fourth quarter marks the beginning of a traditionally slow season. Also, with shipments of handsets seeming to drop off a bit, it is clear that this would impact the demand for small- to mid-sized handset backlights segment. Also, it is reported that panel makers are adjusting their inventory levels, and this will subsequently weigh on the revenue growth of several downstream packagers.

Slow season notwithstanding, one region generally does not impact the other! And especially, not India! Sure, HB-LEDs seem poised for growth, albeit, a slow start to the fourth quarter. However, the story is quite different in India. And that brings me to the third news!

Earlier this month, I was fortunate enough to be part of an Indian semiconductor industry delegation, organized by the India Semiconductor Association (ISA), for a historic signing of an MoU between the ISA and the UKTI (UK Trade & Investment).

One of the many things discussed in this cooperative session were the many areas where the two countries can collaborate. Naturally, green electronics ranks quite high on the agenda. Solar photovoltaics for instance, seems to be on the top of the agenda. As are LEDs!

I've mentioned earlier that these areas are poised for big growth, and those looking to enter India should do so, now!

It is interesting that LEDs and solar keep coming up all the time! And they seem to work very well in unison. Perhaps, their time has truly come!

Pradeep

Oct. 1, 2009