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 Corp. to set up Samsung Suzhou LCD (SSL), 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 7.5th-generation LCD factory to an 8.5th-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 Co., Taiwan`s AU Optronics Corp. and China`s own BOE Technology Group Co., plan to build 8th-generation factories in China.
Amid a prolonged downturn in demand for LCD panels from the global TV industry, global display panel makers have been suffering a supply glut, which in turn has led to a drop in prices.
Samsung Electronics Co., the world`s largest maker of panels and smartphones, estimated that it posted a record operating profit in the fourth quarter on the back of strong sales of smartphones.
Samsung`s brisk sales of smartphones, mobile chips and display panels for mobile phones offset its weak profits from its large LCD panel business, according to analysts.
(A045/H-AK)
Editor: Ella Syafputri
Copyright © ANTARA 2012
