(Yicai) July 8 -- Major sports events this summer, such as the European Football Championship, the America’s Cup and the Olympics Games, have had little effect on China’s sales of liquid crystal display panels and the global prices are expected to stay the same this month as last month, according to a report released by market research firm TrendForce on July 5. 

China’s sluggish mid-year sales promotions and weak demand for TVs have led to production cut by leading panel manufacturers, and the price of LCD screens has been flat since June, consultancy firm Sigmaintell said. 

Online sales of color TV sets during the mid-year sales galas plunged 18.1 percent from a year ago to 2.4 million units, and the sales value slumped 9.1 percent to CNY8.4 billion (USD1.2 billion), according to data from market research firm AVC. 

And in brick-and-mortar stores sales tumbled 5.8 percent to 836,000 units, with the sales amount dipping 1.7 percent to CNY5.4 billion (USD742.7 million), it added. 

LCD display panel prices are starting to slide, said Fan Boyu, an analyst at TrendForce. The price of 32-inch, 50-inch and 55-inch panels will probably fall USD1 this month. 

The closure of Japanese electronics giant Sharp’s 10th generation LCD panel production line in Japan should redress the global imbalance in supply and demand, said Li Yaqin, general manager of Sigmaintell. 

And after South Korea’s LG Display sells its 8.5-generation LCD panel plant in Guangzhou to a mainland manufacturer, the share of mainland panel makers in the global market will increase, and should reach over 70 percent by 2025, Li said. 

Analysts had previously been more optimistic in the run up to the summer sports bonanza. Demand for TV sets and panels should surge this year thanks to major sports events, and both the number of shipments and the size of TV panels should rise as TV screens continue to get larger, BOE Technology Group said at an investor event last month. 

The price of large-size LCD panels should rise slightly this year from last year, TCL Technology Group said at an investor event on July 3. The capacity utilization rate in the industry will increase in the peak season and drop in the off-season. 

Editor: Kim Taylor