Taiwanese LED industry underwent significant changes in senior management including in leading LED manufacturer Everlight, Optotech, and Unistar Opto, reported Chinese-language newspaper Commercial Times.

The Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) in India intends to roll out a massive streetlight replacement project ahead of the annual holiday Ugadi, which takes place on March 29 this year, reported The Hans India.

One more day to go before the New Years, so how did the industry fare in 2016? LEDinside organized a couple of articles reviewing some top trends in technology advancements and international mergers. A couple trends that are becoming more evident over the past year is different research institutes searching for more energy efficient and lower cost materials, while international mergers between Western technology companies and Chinese investors are under more government scrutiny. We expect protectionism measures to become increasingly common in the next few years, especially under new U.S. President Donald Trump’s government.

Before celebrating the New Year, Chinese-language newspaper UDN in Taiwan has a tradition of conducting an annual poll, requesting readers to pick out a word that best represents the year. For 2016, the Taiwanese people chose the Chinese character Ku (苦), which can be translated as a bitter taste, hardships or even a painful experience. Asked how 2016 went, most in the LED industry would probably agree it was another hard year that left a particularly bitter aftertaste.

The LED industry is facing over market saturation, but automotive lighting company Laster Tech that was recently listed on the Taiwanese bourse reported strong revenue growth during the first three quarters, a stark contrast in an industry where most companies incurred losses, reported Liberty Times Net.

Samsung Electronics is making it clear that quantum dot (QD) technology will be at the center front of its 2017 TV product lineup, reported ZDnet.

LED products have become more popular in Denmark than ever before. People have especially been finding many LED gifts during the Christmas season. They are loving how these lights are easy to use and can illuminate a variety of different LED spots.

As 2016 comes to an end, there were many exciting and surprising technology breakthroughs, based on statistics complied by LEDinside there were at least 10 major technology advancements this year.

LightPath Technologies (“LightPath,” the “Company,” or “we”), a leading vertically integrated global manufacturer, distributor, and integrator of proprietary optical and infrared components and high-level assemblies, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of ISP Optics Corporation (“ISP”) for a purchase price of US $18 million, subject to post-closing adjustments, of which $12 million was paid in cash with the balance in the form of five-year subordinated notes issued to the sellers. 

AIXTRON announced that it intends to voluntarily delist its American Depositary Shares (ADSs) from The NASDAQ Global Select Market (“NASDAQ”) and deregister and terminate its reporting obligations under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended ("Exchange Act").

Chinese TV manufacturer LeEco’s takeover of U.S. TV maker Vizio for US $2 billion is still waiting for approval from Chinese government authorities, according to a TechNews report.

Samsung Electronics is taking the lead in forming a quantum dot (QD) TV alliance to counter OLED TV manufacturers, reported Korean media the Pulse.

When Revolux, the automotive industry’s largest provider of dealership LED lighting solutions, recently visited Premier Automotive’s Toyota of New Orleans, it wasn’t to discuss how to light the showroom or service bays, but rather to help those in need see their way to their next hot meal.

NVC Lighting and CAS Smart City signed an intelligent lighting partnership agreement recently in Huizhou, reported Yicai.com.

Last Friday, LED epiwafer manufacturer Genesis Photonics Inc. (GPI) outlined its future roadmap at a press conference, stating it was redirecting its focus to CSP LEDs for automotive lighting, reported Money DJ.com.

Honglizhihui, formerly a Chinese LED package manufacturer known as Hongliopto, forecasted its profits could plummet as much as 40% for 2016 compared to the same period last year.

Members of the Finance and Contracts Committee (F&CC) at Jalandhar in India gathered recently to discuss a 65,000 high pressure sodium streetlight replacement project with LEDs that will cost an estimated INR 2.74 billion (US $40.39 million), reported The Tribune.

On Dec. 21, 2016, SemiLEDs Corporation (the “Company”) selected BF Borgers CPA PC (“BF Borgers”) as its new independent registered public accounting firm. The decision to engage and appoint BF Borgers as the Company’s independent registered public accounting firm was approved by the Audit Committee.

Patent suits left an indelible mark in the LED industry in 2016, Seoul Semiconductor took the lead this week warning 29 companies over potential patent infringement issues. Nichia also announced it had won two legal YAG patent suits against Everlight in Dusseldorf District Court in Germany and the local appeal court. Cree also has settled a long pending patent infringement case with Feit Electric for an undisclosed amount, and the two companies have signed a patent license agreement.

ETI forecasted losses incurred from operations would peak to RMB 100 million for the fourth quarter of 2016, stated the company in a press release.

China Development Bank (CDB) and San’an Opto group signed a strategic partnership agreement Thursday in southern province Xiamen to propel the Chinese LED company’s global sales strategy and rankings.

To meet OLED display supplies for the next generation iPhone 8, Apple tracked down equipment maker Canon Tokki located in Japanese rice fields next to the city of Mitsuke in Niigata prefecture, reported Bloomberg.

GE, the world’s leading digital industrial company, executed on its agreement to acquire a 75% stake in Concept Laser of Germany. The agreement, announced in late October, allows for GE to take full ownership over the next several years.

Philips Lighting, a global leader in lighting, announced that the Dutch alstroemeria grower Hoogenboom Alstroemeria is moving to hybrid lighting in its 1.5-hectare greenhouse with Philips GreenPower LED toplighting. By using Philips GreenPower LED, grower Dick Hoogenboom will shorten growth cycles, increase quantity and quality of yields while reducing energy consumption up to 42%.

Factory Pipe, a manufacturer of high-performance exhaust systems, is collaborating with Current, powered by GE, to make its Ukiah, California headquarters more efficient. The company is offsetting 75% of its energy use through Current’s rooftop solar offering and saving close to 60% in lighting-related energy use with an LED lighting retrofit in its manufacturing warehouse.

A recent Nikkei Asian Review report claiming Innolux would be scaling back LCD supplies to competitors because of Foxconn group policy was refuted by the LCD panel subsidiary recently.

Taiwan’s LED industry production value increased nearly 15% year-on-year during the first nine months of 2016, as more governments around the globe rolled out policies supporting environmental friendly businesses, said the Ministry of Economics Affair (MOEA) recently.

Even though Japan Display has temporarily solved its fundraising deadlock with the aid from a state-backed company in the OLED panel sector, the outlook remains uncertain and there are still challenges ahead before mass production, reported Nikkei Asian Review.

Schréder, an intelligent outdoor lighting solutions provider, has become a partner of the Smart City Institute, a non-profit organization that aims to stimulate research, teaching, innovation and entrepreneurship to enable smart cities.

Big Chinese smartphone brands bullish revenue growth targets for 2016-2017 could cause oversupply of unsold phones, warned a Morgan Stanley analyst.