South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd said on Thursday that it will invest 1.05 trillion won (USD 908 million) to build a new local plastic organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display production plant, ramping up spending for the next-generation technology.
LG Display, in a regulatory filing, said the investment will start sometime in the third quarter and is expected to be completed by the second quarter of 2017. Once fully ramped up, the plant's monthly capacity will be double that of an existing production line for LG Display.
The world's top liquid crystal display (LCD) maker had been considering adding capacity for plastic OLED screens amid growing demand from applications such as smartphones and smartwatches from clients such as Apple Inc and sister firm LG Electronics Inc.
LG Display and Samsung Electronics Co Ltd subsidiary Samsung Display are the only firms in the industry so far capable of mass-producing OLED screens, which are more flexible and consume less power than current-generation LCD screens.
Analysts have said LG Display will boost OLED capacity in order to maintain a competitive edge over its Chinese rivals.
The South Korean firm said it will also use the plant to address future applications such as foldable screens and automotive displays.
The company is expected to report its April-June results after market close on Thursday.
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