Hoya to build top-line LCD panel plant here

TOKYO ― Hoya Corp., a manufacturer of optical glass for liquid crystal displays, said yesterday that it plans to establish a plant in Pyeongtaek, Gyeonggi province. The Japanese company added that it had reached an agreement with the Gyeonggi provincial government on Saturday, and was scheduled to begin operating the plant by the end of next year. According to the Japanese manufacturer, the $40 million plant will be located within the foreign industrial zone in Pyeongtaek. The provincial government and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy said the plant site will be provided for free. Additionally, corporate taxes will not be levied for the first seven years and will reduced by 50 percent for an additional three years. “The plant in Pyeongtaek will be the production line for seventh and eighth generation liquid panels, leading technologies of the future,” said a Hoya official. “It will be equipped with a production system and research facilities for state-of-the-art, next generation technologies.” The Japanese company, which is 50 percent owned by foreign investors, has a fifth generation production line in Taiwan. Analysts say the company chose Korea for its seventh generation line so that it could provide a steady supply to Samsung Electronics, with which it has a business relationship. by Kim Hyun-ki, Choi Ji-young