Did a boycott of Chinese products on India social media websites cause the sharp decline of LED bulb imports? A movement launched on Indian social media platforms during the annual lighting festival Diwali on Oct. 31, 2016 resulted in a 30% to 50% revenue decline of energy efficient lights and LED bulbs in Mumbai.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, and Xiaomi, the mobile internet company, today signed a joint venture agreement for smart home lighting in China. The companies have joined forces to design and develop connected LED luminaires and lamps for Xiaomi’s wireless smart home platform, including apps for controlling the lights both via Android and IoS-based smartphones. 

Quantel Laser announced the opening of a new service center in China at the offices of their long-time partner, Titan Electro-Optics (TEO). The service center, inaugurated at a gala grand-opening ceremony in Beijing on October 24, 2016, will provide local service to all Quantel customers in China. Local service will be available at the company’s Beijing headquarters as well as in Shanghai and Shenzhen.

Foxconn and its newly acquired Japanese subsidiary Sharp might be making OLED panels for smartphone makers in China by 2019, a Nikkeireport cited those familiar with the matter saying.

Refond Optoelectronics recently announced its board members approved two proposals including the termination of its subsidiary in Dongyuan city in Guangdong Province, China, and forming a joint venture with foreign investors.

iView  and Forth Dimension Displays Limited (ForthDD) have entered into an agreement to develop, manufacture and sell Structured Light Projectors (SLPs). SLPs are a key component of 3D automated in-line optical inspection (3D AOI) equipment which is rapidly replacing 2D AOI in printed circuit board (PCB) manufacture. The ability to use 3D AOI to measure components in all three dimensions, on every PCB in real time, enables companies to improve yields and product quality while reducing wastage and costs.

In an environment of intense price wars, nothing can grab LED manufacturers attention more than "price hikes." Chinese LED manufacturers MLS, Kinglight and other manufacturers all raised their product prices in March 2016. Another wave of price hikes occurred in May, when San’an Opto and Taiwanese LED manufacturer Epistar increased prices. Recent market rumors point towards another round of price upticks.

Chinese manufacturers technology have advanced in the past year to result in large GaN price fluctuations, and have entered III-V EPI-wafer synthesizing industry to build a comprehensive IoT and telecommunication supply chain in the upstream sector.

Major iPhone assembler Hon Hai Precision Industry, or also kn0own as Foxconn Technology Group announced the Chinese government finally gave it the green light to approve Japanese conglomerate Sharp for US $3.5 billion, reported Nikkei Asian Review.

Nichia’s patent infringement suit filed against the world’s third largest TV vendor TCL Multimedia (TCL) and subsidiary TTE Technology (TTE) on Aug. 8, 2016, is a significant move to prevent unpatented Chinese LED chips from entering U.S., said LEDinside analysts.

Smart industries and intelligent living were the main themes of the 2016 China (Chengdu) Smart Industry International Expo that kicked off Wednesday, according to a MoneyDJ report.

Nobel Prize in Physics laureate Shuji Nakamura, who was lauded by The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences as the Edison of 21st Century, recently noted laser diodes would eventually replace LEDs in lighting applications within the next decade at a fair in China last month, reported China’s LED Patent Alliance (LPA).

China’s LED industry produced 296.3 billion LEDs during first half of 2016, up 19.21% Year-on-Year, reported China Light Industry Internet (CLII).

France and UK recently sent recall notifications to the EU The Rapid Alert System for Non-food Dangerous Products (RAPEX) for LED luminaire products made in China, due to electric shock risks.

Chinese and Belgium government agencies signed a LED lighting partnership agreement in Hasselt, capital of Limburg province in east Belgium on Tuesday, reported Xinhua.

The sales of Aixtron to a Chinese investor last Friday sparked market rumors, with some industry insiders over interpreting and speculating San’an Opto is involved in the acquisition. LEDinside takes a look into this particular market rumor.

RayVio, an advanced UVC LED vendor, announced that it has closed new funding rounds of in total $26 million led by IPV Capital and Tsing Capital. RayVio will use the new funding to scale production to meet global consumer demand for protection against germs in water and environments. RayVio’s powerful Ultraviolet (UV) LED technology enables compelling new health and hygiene products, such as point-of-use water disinfection, and creates new markets and revenue streams for original equipment manufacturer (OEM) partners around the world.

StrongLED Lighting Systems, a company registered in Cayman Islands, but with operations based in Taiwan and China is rumored to have acquired Osram’s outsurce orders, reported Taiwanese media Commercial Times.

To accelerate digital outcomes and use cases for commercial, industrial and municipal users, Current, powered by GE (NYSE: GE), is adding 15 partners and microservices to its open Intelligent Environments ecosystem. The growth in the company’s app catalog and digital capabilities comes as Current deploys intelligent LED infrastructure in three cities –Tianjin, China; Schenectady, New York; and Cleveland – and on the heels of the company’s acquisition of Daintree Networks, an enterprise IoT provider of building controls solutions for small and medium commercial facilities.

Silver Spring Networks announced a new go-to-market partner, Rongwen, for its rapidly growing smart cities and smart street lighting business. Rongwen is one of the largest smart LED street light providers and operators in China, and has deployed more than 250,000 controllable LED street lights in its home country under the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) business model. 

One of the markedly visible changes to China’s latest lighting standard GB7000.1-2015, which addresses luminaires general test requirements, is the introduction of blue-light hazard regulations, stated the Machinery and Electrical Products Testing Center under Shanghai’s Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau.

China’s ecommerce giants announced their breaking revenue results for Single’s Day on Nov. 12, 2015. The country’s online total revenue on the anti-Valentines day, commonly known as Single’s Day to locals, soared 52.7% to reach RMB 122.94 billion (US $19.29 billion), compared to last year’s RMB 80.5 billion according to data compiled by Syntun. Internet packages and deliveries climbed up 65.7% to reach RMB 678 million.

Singles Day celebrated by China every November 11 is one of the biggest shopping spree days in the country that can only be comparable to Black Friday in U.S., or Boxing Day in UK. Online Chinese retailer Alibaba has set a brand new record this year, completing business transactions at a much faster rate than last year.

LEDs might be a new lighting product, but it is being widely applied in different types of lighting applications, according to a report from Chinese-language Emerging Industry Strategic Library. To strengthen and advance energy saving technologies, many countries have issued their own LED lighting standards. Lighting was included in China’s energy efficiency standards, which became effective in January 2008, while the Energy Star in the U.S. has set certain energy efficiency standards during the certification process. The EU directive on energy-related products (ErP) covers LED energy savings.

Philips introduced two new smartphones that employs its Soft Blue technology to reduce eye strain in October 31, 2015 in China, according to an article from Vine Report.

The lighting industry has been steadily developing over the last two decades, with China becoming one of the largest manufacturing base and consumer market. According to data compiled by Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) lighting products manufactured in China was up 10.7% YoY to RMB 418.5 billion (US $) in 2014.

The LED industry survived the economic downturn, and has started to rebound in 3Q15. Their financial results will reveal whether manufacturers are in the lead with a overflowing treasury, passing, or in the red zone.

Chinese sapphire maker Aurora announced last week, it would be investing RMB 40 million (US $6.32 million) in a new investment management arm to integrate investments in the sapphire supply chain, according to a report from China Securities Network.

Next generation OLED TV sales have soared 317% during the first half of 2015, according to a report from Business Korea.

Chinese manufacturers exported LED lighting goods to India for the first eight months of 2015 reached US $355 million, according to a DIGITIMES report.