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LG Display will invest almost W2 trillion to produce organic light-emitting diode screens for smartphones, encroaching on the territory of rival Samsung (US$1=W1,136).
LG currently makes only large OLED monitors for TVs. The company said Wednesday it will invest W1.99 trillion in a plastic OLED manufacturing line at its plant in Paju north of Seoul. Production will start in the second half of 2018 with monthly output reaching 15,000 units.
Using plastic instead of glass as the panel board enables the production of curved screens that can be used in foldable smartphones and other flexible devices.
LG is currently building another plastic OLED manufacturing line at its plan in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province with an investment of W1.36 trillion. The line will be capable of rolling out 15,000 units a month as well, bringing total monthly production capacity to 30,000.
The massive investment is motivated by huge growth in sales of smartphones with plastic OLED screens.
They are more expensive than conventional screens and were used until recently only in premium smartphones, but Chinese makers like Vivo are now using them for low- to mid-priced phones, and Apple also plans to use them for its devices from next year.
"Demand for plastic OLED screens will grow further when foldable smartphones hit the market," an LG Display staffer said.
Market researcher IHS forecasts that smartphones and smart watches with plastic OLED screens will proliferate from 59 million units this year to 416 million in 2020.
Samsung Display controls around 90 percent of the global market.
(THE CHOSUNILBO)
