Sakai plans to invest in industry park

Firm controlled by Taiwan tycoon Gou to spend $8.79b on plant for hi-tech screens

Sakai Display Products Corp, which is controlled by Taiwan tycoon Terry Gou, signed a framework agreement with the Guangzhou city government on Friday for building a 10.5-generation 8K display industrial park.

With a total investment of 61 billion yuan ($8.79 billion), the complex will produce highly advanced display screens, smart TVs and electronic whiteboards when it starts operation in 2019, according to an official statement.

Adopting indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO) technology in the production of large-screen ultrahigh definition 8K display products, the facility is expected to generate annual output of 92 billion yuan when it is fully operational.

In the Guangzhou park, SDP, the sole company with a 10th-generation 8K production facility which turns out the world’s largest display screens, uses IGZO technology from its partner Sharp Corp, which was acquired by Gou’s Foxconn Technology Group earlier this year.

Products from the park, located in Zengcheng district of Guangzhou, can be used in the industrial Internet of Things (IoT), connected cars and many other areas.

The global market for 8k ultrahigh definition display technology is expected to be worth $5.15 trillion annually by 2020.

SDP will also collaborate with Sharp in the research and development of cutting-edge large-sized screens and 8k content.

The project will inject power into the efforts of the Guangzhou government to turn the city into a strong one in manufacturing, said Mayor Wen Guohui.

It will also help SDP optimize its industrial layout in the Chinese mainland, he said.

Gou said: “8k technology is not only a cornerstone for the ‘Made in China 2025’ strategy, it is also a core technology that will transform and enhance the way we live. We see 10.5 th-generation 8k display fabrication as only the beginning of this digital revolution.”

With Guangzhou actively developing industries related to big data and IoT, the park is expected to catalyze the development of solutions enabling big data analysis to better forecast future trends and opportunities.

Gou restated his commitment to investment in manufacturing. Using the Pearl River Delta region of Guangdong as a base, Foxconn is repositioning itself as a leader in industrial IoT and connected car technology in its vision of building an ecosystem for smart lives.