The panel under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had been reviewing the plan since July when LG Display asked the government to approve its investment in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou. (Image: Yonhap)
SEOUL, Dec. 26 (Korea Bizwire) – A government panel on Tuesday greenlighted LG Display Co.’s 5 trillion-won (US$4.4 billion) project to build its first large organic light-emitting diode plant in China.
The panel under the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy had been reviewing the plan since July when LG Display asked the government to approve its investment in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou.
The panel gave the condition that LG Display must increase the localization of its equipment and its investment at home.
There have been concerns about technology leaks amid diplomatic uncertainties between Seoul and Beijing, while industry officials have said that the delayed approval could hamper LG’s business plan to shift from LCD to OLED.
OLED technology has been garnering more attention as an alternative to the ubiquitous liquid crystal displays, and LG Display plans to ramp up its investment in the next-generation panel technology.
The South Korean firm’s market share of large display panels came in at 19.3 percent of the total in the third quarter, falling to the No. 2 spot for the first time since 2009, according to data compiled by industry tracker IHS Markit. China’s BOE Technology Group took first place with 21.7 percent.
(Yonhap)
