BOE Technology Co Ltd and two Chengdu-based firms will co-invest
three billion yuan (US$394 million) to build a 4.5-generation LCD
panel manufacturing facility in the west China city, the
Beijing-based firm said in a statement yesterday.
The 4.5G facility will manufacture liquid crystal display panels
below 14.1 inch, which are used in laptop, automobile electronics
and portable multimedia players.
BOE, Chengdu Hi-Tech Investment Group Co and Chengdu Industrial
Investment Co will establish a joint venture with registered
capital of 30 million yuan.
BOE will spend 9.54 million yuan for 18.18 percent and the two
Chengdu-based firms will hold the remainder.
"Small size doesn't mean lack of profit," said Liu Ruilin,
president of Tianma Microelectronics Co Ltd, which makes
small-sized LCD panels."The TV and monitor LCD panel market is too
crowded and risky."
It was the latest move for BOE's new strategy announced last
month to invest a total of 3.1 billion yuan to build a plant to
make LCD panels measuring smaller than 14 inches.
BOE now focuses on 5G LCD panel manufacturing of 17-inch LCD
monitors and TVs, which caused the company huge losses after
competition from rivals such as Sharp Corp and Samsung
Electronics.
The higher generation of LCD panel production line can make huge
LCD panels but it needs more investment.
Shares of BOE closed at 11.31 yuan yesterday, a 2.07-percent
drop from the day before. But the share price represented a
40-percent jump from September 1 when the firm announced it would
invest on 4.5G LCD.
BOE's new move helped it to avoid duplicated investment in the
home-grown LCD panel industry as local rival SVA Group seeks to
build a 6G line in Shanghai for LCD TVs, industry insiders
claimed.
(Shanghai Daily October 11, 2007)
