A leading market research firm has suggested that the LCD television market could grow by over a third in the next two years, EE Times Asia reports today (12th March).

DisplaySearch has suggested that the industry's rapid ascent looks set to rise to 181 million units in 2011, representing an increase of 35 per cent from the expected 135 million units this year.

The prediction comes at time when LG Display has announced that it has commenced mass production of its KRW2,535 billion (£1.24 billion) eighth-generation LCD plant in Paju, Korea.

The company will use the facility to manufacture 32, 47 and 55-inch television panels from its 2,200mm x 2,500mm glass substrates, of which platinum is a key element.

According to estimates, the firm will start out with a capacity of 20,000 sheets of substrate, a figure which could be raised to 83,000 by the end of 2009, depending on market conditions.

LG Display designed its new line with the intention of getting rid of unnecessary factors, while also improving investment efficiency and per capita productivity, plus making use of new technologies.

It is hoping to capitalise on growing demand, particularly in China, where the price gap between LCD and CRT televisions has been narrowed by the government's 'Home Appliances to the Countryside' policy.

Source:

LG begins 8th-gen LCD production (12/03/09)
http://www.eetasia.com/ART_8800566192_480200_NT_f1132048.HTM