LCD panel gross margins are getting lower and lower, and Korean panel makers are turning to profitable OLEDs. In addition to Samsung Electronics Co., LG Display is also actively expanding its OLED panel production capacity for TVs and smartphones.
The Korea Herald and the Electronic Times reported on the 17th that LG Display has begun to implement a 1 trillion won (about 850 million US dollars) Korean investment plan, intending to increase the production of OLEDs for TVs and smartphones. The company also began ordering new equipment from Korean suppliers, and plans to renovate the LCD panel production line at the Paju P8 plant to produce TV OLED panels.
According to the news, LG Display intends to increase monthly production capacity by 25,000. It is estimated that the monthly output of TV OLED panels in this (2016) year will be 60,000, almost double the number in 2015. In addition, LG Display has also invested in flexible OLED panels with an estimated investment of 310 billion won.
A LG Display spokesperson denied that the LCD panel will be significantly reduced, claiming that the LCD panel will be transferred to the Guangzhou plant, so the total production volume will not change much.
