Samsung Electronics Co, the world’s biggest maker of liquid-crystal displays (LCD), plans to build a factory in Suzhou, China, to meet demand for the panels in the country.
The factory will cost 2.6 trillion won (US$2.2 billion) and will be based on 7.5-generation LCD technology, Suwon, South Korea-based Samsung said in a regulatory filing yesterday. Samsung plans to form a venture to build the China plant and the investment is subject to approval from both the South Korean and Chinese governments, the company said.
The company declined to give financial details, name its partner or say how big a stake it would hold.
“Everything regarding the financial details will be available only when both the Korean and Chinese governments approve the plan,” spokesman James Chung told Dow Jones Newswires.
A 7.5-generation plant can make panels bigger than 40 inches, while 8th-generation factories can produce panels bigger than 50 inches.
Samsung has chosen China to exploit demand there for TVs with screens larger than 40 inches, Chung said. The number of LCD TVs sold in China will likely jump 87 percent to 25 million sets this year and increase by a further 32 percent next year, Austin, Texas-based researcher DisplaySearch said.
Samsung joins LG Display Co, the world’s second-biggest maker of LCDs, in announcing plans to build LCD plants in China, the world’s fastest-growing major economy. LG Display said this week it aims to build a US$4 billion LCD factory in Guangzhou, China.
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