Chapter 286: One White Hides a Hundred Ugliness

Since BOE and Dongling Gao Ke began their cooperation, orders for products involving screens under Dongling Gao Ke have basically been handed over to Dongfang Optoelectronics.

But Dongfang Optoelectronics mainly focuses on R&D technology and doesn't have many production lines. Most orders are actually subcontracted to BOE. As a link in Dongling Gao Ke's component supply chain, it would be difficult for BOE's revenue not to explode.

Mentioning this, a smile couldn't help but appear on Wang Dongsheng's face, "It's all thanks to Dongling Gao Ke's support. BOE's performance this year can be 'considered' quite good!"

Looking at Wang Dongsheng's expression, Li Dongling knew that Wang Dongsheng was probably being modest; BOE's performance had likely more than doubled.

"If this LCD panel production line can be successfully developed, BOE will issue B-shares on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to raise funds for BOE's LCD panel business!"

Wang Dongsheng had clearly planned the next step long ago. After hearing this, Li Dongling looked at this "King of Japanese Jiucai-Cutting" of the future A-share market with a strange gaze.

Among the companies listed domestically, there are many little experts at cutting leeks and burning money, but if you talk about who burns the most money, BOE is definitely on the list.

In twenty years of listing, dividends have been less than 10 billion, while financing through stock issuance has exceeded 100 billion. And this is just in the stock market; the subsidies and investments obtained from other places, when added together, absolutely exceed the money obtained from financing.

BOE's development and its rivalry with Xia Pu are inseparable from the support of A-share investors. But if there were no BOE, if domestic LCD TVs, LCD computer screens, mobile phone screens, MP3 screens, etc., wanted to use products at cabbage prices, they could just dream. Who is right and who is wrong can only be evaluated by future generations.

Look at the prices of the LCD and plasma TVs that Xia Pu and Panasonic are currently developing. The price of one plasma TV exceeds 80,000 yuan, equivalent to half an apartment in Yanjing!

As soon as they entered, Tang Qinliang, the supervisor of the STN panel laboratory, immediately walked up and called out to Li Dongling and the other.

"Chairman Li, Chairman Wang!"

BOE was first listed on the B-shares, issued on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange. What are B-shares? They are stocks that can only be purchased with foreign exchange such as Hong Kong dollars and US dollars. To put it bluntly, it is to let overseas investors buy BOE's B-shares.

Entering Dongfang Optoelectronics, they didn't enter the TFT LCD panel laboratory first. Instead, Li Dongling and Wang Dongsheng came to another laboratory.

Buying products with 80% or 90% of the performance of the other party at one-third or even one-fifth of the price of Xia Pu and Panasonic panels—what more could you ask for? At this time, setting aside the price, isn't that being a hooligan? Why can't you demand that Xia Pu and Panasonic supply domestic LCD panels at cabbage prices back then? Let's see if they would come for a samurai duel!

Of course, saying that Old Wang uses BOE to cut the leeks of domestic investors is not entirely accurate. Damn it, he cuts foreign leeks just the same, and he cut foreign leeks first. Only when he couldn't cut them anymore did he cut—no, seek the help of domestic investors.

Xia Pu's LCD TVs are a bit cheaper, but only a bit. The selling price exceeds 20,000 yuan. As for those who complain about the technical level of BOE and domestic panel manufacturers, one cannot speak against their conscience. BOE may have let down A-share investors, but it definitely did not let down domestic consumers.

Putting on the dust-free suit again, they walked into the constant-temperature laboratory. Here, Wang Dongsheng was clearly more familiar with the road than Li Dongling. To be honest, the number of times he came here was much more than the number of times Li Dongling came here.

Li Dongling held a position as a director at Dongfang Optoelectronics, but in reality, Dongfang Optoelectronics was managed by Wang Dongsheng, professional managers, and technical big shots in the panel industry, while Li Dongling mainly held the finances.

Wang Dongsheng, Tang Qinliang, and the others were all insiders, and they were definitely much more experienced in the panel industry than Li Dongling. Li Dongling had always believed that management by laymen of insiders was absolutely a disaster.

As for those overseas institutions that invested in BOE earliest, whether they made money or not, only ghosts know. Anyway, BOE has been crying poor every day for decades, and has never lived a day of prosperity!

Seeing Li Dongling's strange expression, Wang Dongsheng couldn't help but touch his body, wondering why Li Dongling would have such an expression.

However, although Li Dongling was not very good at panel technology, he was clear about the future R&D direction of panels. After all, in the future, there would only be two or three players left in the panel industry: the mainland, the stick-wielding Samsung, and the treasure island, plus a crippled Japanese Xia Pu. Most of the other panel manufacturers in America and Europe were rolled to death.

"This STN panel laboratory is one of the top STN laboratories in the country. Placed abroad, it is also one of the best. Currently, in the Dongfang Optoelectronics production center, there is also an experimental STN panel production line. The screens currently supplied to Little Smart mobile phones and Shenzhou digital cordless phones are mostly OEM-produced by BOE's STN production line!"

Tang Qinliang explained the status of Dongfang Optoelectronics' STN panels to Li Dongling, the major shareholder holding 65% of Dongfang Optoelectronics.

From Tang Qinliang's words, Li Dongling could hear his dissatisfaction. Thinking about it, he understood what was going on.

He must have known about Dongfang Optoelectronics' plan to launch the TFT LCD panel project. But as a big shot in the STN panel industry who had been in the industry for more than ten years, how could Tang Qinliang be willing to be replaced?

Tang Qinliang was indeed unwilling. To be honest, since joining Dongfang Optoelectronics, these years had been the best days for Tang Qinliang. This refers to his career. Dongfang Optoelectronics' salary and benefits were on par with Dongling Gao Ke, far higher than the LCD panel company under Huaging that also made STN panels domestically.

Besides salary, Dongfang Optoelectronics' R&D funds were also much more abundant. Li Dongling and Wang Dongsheng had invested a lot of R&D funds in Dongfang Optoelectronics. To be honest, since entering the domestic panel industry, Tang Qinliang had never fought such a wealthy battle!

But now, good days had only lasted for a few days. Seeing that the STN panel, which had only been in the limelight for less than ten years, had its limelight snatched away by the TFT LCD panel, how could Tang Qinliang be willing?

"Chairman Li, the STN panel has absolutely not reached the point of being outdated. Even if the TFT LCD panel can be truly mass-produced one day, it will take at least five or six years, or even ten years or more, for it to mature and reduce the cost of LCD panels!"

"And during this period, it all belongs to the STN panel market. As long as we can develop an STN color screen, I think there is an opportunity!"

Li Dongling didn't come here often. Tang Qinliang knew he had to seize the opportunity to persuade Li Dongling; otherwise, once the STN panel became a department that no one cared about within Dongfang Optoelectronics, his hard work would be destroyed.

Hearing Tang Qinliang's words, Li Dongling didn't immediately agree or reject, but asked him, "Has the STN color screen project already been launched and started R&D?!"

In fact, STN and TFT both belong to the ranks of LCD panels, but the technology is different. Besides these two technologies, there are several other technologies such as TFD, UFB, OLED, AMOLED, GF, CG, etc. The reason why everyone is swarming to develop FTF LCD panels now is because Japanese manufacturers are playing with them.

In the global LCD panel industry, Japan's Xia Pu is the industry leader. Whatever direction it researches, other companies follow. Of course, they can choose not to follow, but the trial-and-error cost is too high. Following Xia Pu, they might be able to pick up leaks. The mines encountered, Xia Pu has already walked through. Latecomers, although they will be suppressed by Xia Pu with patents and technology, the risk is indeed much smaller.

Now, the Little Smart mobile phone uses the STN screen independently developed by Dongfang Optoelectronics and OEM-produced by BOE. Just now, Li Dongling said that BOE's revenue was high, and that's what he meant. The Little Smart orders absolutely made BOE full.

For so many years in the past, BOE was just OEM-producing for Panasonic and drinking soup. Now, following Dongling Gao Ke, it is truly eating meat!

The STN screen on the Little Smart is a black and white screen. Not only the Little Smart, but now there is no color screen mobile phone in the world. Dongling Gao Ke is pushing in this direction. Next generation, when the mobile phone under the Shenzhou banner appears, it must be a color screen!

The advantages and disadvantages of the STN screen are very obvious. The advantage is that the technology is relatively mature, the cost is low, so the price is cheap, and the power consumption is small and saves electricity. But the disadvantages are equally obvious: slow reaction, dead screens, and flower screens are common occurrences. In addition, brightness and clarity are also hard to describe.

This was only the black and white screen era. The so-called "one white hides a hundred ugliness" is the same when placed on mobile phones. In the black and white screen era, there was no problem with pixels and color saturation, and you couldn't see anything. But in the STN color screen era, comparing it with the TFT panel screen, you could almost see the difference at a glance.

But regardless of disadvantages or advantages, those are all compared later. As for now, having a screen to use is not bad. What else are you picking? If Dongfang Optoelectronics doesn't develop STN screens, it has to be purchased from Japan. At that time, the money spent will not be this amount; they really dare to open their mouths like a lion.

Anyway, the old routine abroad is that when domestic production is not possible, they are all high-tech products and must be sold at a high price. When domestic production is possible, they instantly become cabbage prices. It has always been like this and has never changed.

"Currently, it is under R&D. I believe that Dongfang Optoelectronics' STN color screen project is not much worse than the STN color screen R&D speed of overseas companies, and it is even leading!"

Hearing Li Dongling's words, Tang Qinliang said with a refreshed spirit. He needed the support of Li Dongling, the major shareholder of Dongfang Optoelectronics.

Looking at Tang Qinliang, Li Dongling said, "Dongfang Optoelectronics will not stop the R&D of the STN panel project, and will even increase investment. I hope that in the future, on Shenzhou mobile phones, we can see the world's first STN mobile phone color screen developed by Dongfang Optoelectronics!"

Listening to these words, which were like "heaven sends a great mission to a person," Tang Qinliang's body trembled, and a feeling suddenly rose in his heart that the heavy responsibility of developing STN panels in the future would fall on his shoulders.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 287 =====