LG Display Co.’s chief executive on Thursday reiterated that the company has no additional investment plan for liquid crystal display (LCD) TV panels, aimed to quench market concerns about spike in LCD supplies as the result of the company’s ambitious expansion plan.

“We will invest on LCD panels for monitors and notebook PCs to meet growing demand for high definition panels, but we won’t make any additional investment for LCD TV panels,” said Han Sang-beom, vice chairman and CEO of LG Display. The company will also shut down the LCD panel lines P2, P3, P3 at its Gumi plant, North Gyeongsang Province as planned, Han added.

Han’s comments followed after Kim Sang-don, chief financial officer and senior vice president of LG Display, on Wednesday denied the rumor that the investment in 10.5-generation OLED TV production could end up expanding LCD capacity.

The country’s leading display maker earlier this week announced that it would spend total 15 trillion won ($13.5 billion) by 2020 in building production facilities for OLED panels for both TVs and mobile devices. Of the total, it plans to invest 7.8 trillion won in building OLED production facilities to P10 line currently under construction in Paju in Gyeonggi Province. It has allocated 2.8 trillion won to build 10.5-generation OLED lines for large TV panels and another 5 trillion won to build 6-generation plastic OLED (POLED) lines for small- and mid-sized screens.

“The company is making a big bet on OLED technology, but it would be able to foster OLED business on the back of the success of LCD panels,” said Han, citing a mere 10 percent share that its OLED panel business makes up in the company’s entire revenue as of the second quarter ended June. Despite hefty investment in OLED production, the ratio between LCD and OLED in revenue would be 6 to 4 by 2020, said Han hinting that the company would have to rely on LCD business for a while.

Han emphasized that the P10 plant in Paju will start producing 10.5-generation OLED panels in 2020, reiterating that the company’s latest investment is to produce the world’s first 10.5-generation OLED panels, not transforming LCD production into OLED lines later. Industry watchers expect LG Display to start churn out 60-inch or larger OLED displays for TVs as soon as its new factory is fully ready for mass production of OLED panels with high yield rates.

Han also echoed Kim’s confidence about whether it can effectively prevent OLED technology leaks even after it adds OLED lines to its Guangzhou LCD plant in China. “OLED technology cannot be easily copied as it requires more complicated knowledge and know-how than making LCD panels,” said Han.

As for small- and medium-sized flexible OLED panels, LG Display is a latecomer based on production volume trailing behind its arch rival Samsung Display Co., but the firm is fully competent to race against the competitors, said Han.

By Lee Dong-in

[ⓒ Pulse by Maeil Business News Korea & mk.co.kr, All rights reserved]