LCD panel glut sparks OLED investment by LG.D

The global demand for largepanel OLED, together with a glut in the LCD panel market, has seen LG.Display change its plans for a huge new production facility in Paju, South Korea, according to BusinessKorea.

The new P10 plant would have been online in 2018 producing LCD panels, before later switching to OLED production. Now the rapid growth of LCD production in China and the subsequent oversupply has forced a rethink, with the Korean facility now being redesigned to go straight to 10.5G OLED panel production. But LG.Display is simultaneously investing heavily in the 8.5G OLED facility due to open this year in Guangzhou, and BusinessKorea quotes an industry official as suggesting that LG.Display is likely to hold investment in the Paju plant until revenues start flowing from the Guangzhou factory, which might suggest a late 2020 completion for Paju. The Guangzhou plant should ameliorate the shortage of large-display OLED panels that some had projected to occur by end-2019, while adding Paju’s output might both increase panel quality and reduce prices.