LG Display to invest extra $1 bn in Vietnam OLED plant

LG Display Co. will invest an additional $1 billion in Vietnam over the next five years to ramp up organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panel output, according to media reports, after selling its large-size liquid crystal display (LCD) plant in China for $1.5 billion.

The leading South Korean display maker was granted approval from Haiphong, Vietnam, on Nov. 14 to expand its facility in the northern port city by $1 billion, AFP and Reuters reported. The factory assembles OLED panel modules.

The additional investment, if executed, will bring LG Display’s spending on the facility built in 2017 to $5.65 billion. It will also speed up its transition into the OLED market, particularly in the segment of small- and medium-sized screens suitable for smartphones and other mobile devices.

LG Display has pulled out of the large-size LCD market by selling its plant in China to TCL China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co. (CSOT) for 10.8 billion yuan ($1.5 billion) in September.

In 2022, it closed its LCD plants in Korea in the face of Chinese rivals’ rapid ascent in the sector through cheaper options.

STRATEGIC PRODUCTION HUB

Samsung Display Co., LG’s local rival, is also beefing up its production lines in Vietnam, which the two Korean display makers have picked as a production hub to reduce risk stemming from the US-China trade row.

In September, Samsung Display signed a preliminary agreement to build a $1.8 billion OLED plant in Yen Phong Industrial Park, in Bac Ninh province east of Hanoi, according to Vietnamese and foreign media reports.

Samsung also focuses on small- to medium-sized panels used in mobile devices.

Write to Ui-Myung Park at uimyung@hankyung.com
 

Yeonhee Kim edited this article.