Samsung seeks to upgrade LCD plant in Suzhou

Korean tech behemoth Samsung Electronics will upgrade its new liquid-crystal display (LCD) plant under construction in China to an 8.5-generation one in a bid to enhance its competitiveness in the Chinese market, a source said yesterday.

In May last year, Samsung Electronics started work on the new LCD plant in Suzhou on China’s east coast. The company earlier signed an agreement with Chinese TV maker TCL to set up Samsung Suzhou LCD, a joint venture that will operate the plant.

The industry source in China said Samsung Electronics has received Seoul’s approval for changing its original plan of building a 7.5-generation LCD factory to an 8.5-generation factory.

Samsung Electronics is waiting for the Chinese government to approve the change, the source said. As a result, construction, which was expected to be completed in July 2012, will be delayed, he added.

Other rival LCD panel makers, such as LG Display, Taiwan’s AU Optronics and China’s own BOE Technology Group, plan to build eighth-generation factories in China.