Vertical Divider

LG’s China Gen 8.5 OLED Fab Back Under Consideration
October 23, 2017
 
In July, LG Display announced plans to build a new OLED fab in China.  The new fab, to be co-located with their Gen 8.5 LCD Fab in Guangzhou was expected to begin phase 1 production in April 2019, but approval by the Korean government has not been granted.  The Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy must sign off on the project for it to proceed, however no approval was given after the 1st round of discussions with the company, given the overriding concern that large panel OLED production secrets would leak out to Chinese producers if the plant was built outside of South Korea. The ministry since met a 2nd time with LG Display officials, and while no decision was made, parties seemed more optimistic as to the final approval for the $4.4b project.  LG Display representatives stated, “The government has yet to grant the license, and a committee under the trade ministry is reviewing our explanations.  We hope the government approves of the plan as soon as possible”, while the trade minister seemed more positive than he was at the 1st meeting, where he stated “We never opposed the plan, and the government does not block any firm’s plans to tap into overseas territories, but we are concerned about the technology leak.”  No date for a ruling has been set, although we would expect another meeting in November, either to review the issue or make a determination.


​