LG Display, Skyworth angle for China's LCD TV market

LG Display has forged a strategic alliance with TV manufacturer Skyworth Digital Holdings Ltd, to better position itself in the promising LCD TV market of China.

Both companies have entered an agreement in January under which Skyworth acquired a minority equity stake in LG Display's Guangzhou module plant in China. This agreement will allow Skyworth to secure a stable supply of LCD panels, thus gain a more footing in China, said to be the world's largest LCD TV market today.

Meanwhile, LG Display will secure a better customer alignment for its LCD TV panels ahead of the launch of the company's 8th generation TFT-LCD plant, P8, slated for 1H 09.

A signing ceremony regarding an agreement to set up an R&D Center in Guangzhou took place at a Skyworth's plant in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province April 7. Each party will invest $3.56 million to set up an R&D center for the co-development activities between LCD modules and TV sets.

Skyworth will also build a LCD TV production plant adjacent to LG Display's Guangzhou module plant. Thus, an LCD module plant, R&D Center and TV production plant will be co-located in the Guangzhou Economic and Technology Development Zone. This co-location is expected to enable timely production, lower logistics costs and efficient supply chain management.

Construction of LG Display's Guangzhou module plant began in August 2006. The module plant started mass production in December 2007 with annual production capacity of 8 million units, most of which are for LCD TVs and monitors. The annual production capacity is set to rise to 20 million units by 2010.