Samsung SDI will build a polarizing film plant in China. The polarizing film is an essential part used in all electronic devices with LCD panels in them, in efforts to preempt the fast-growing Chinese display market.
Samsung SDI president Cho Nam-sung signed on May 25 a memorandum at the Pullman Wuxi Hotel with Wuxi Municipal Party Secretary Li Xiaomin related to building the plant within the city. The polarizing film is used for electronic devices such as TV, laptop computer, smartphone, and tablet computers.
The company is running three polarizing film production lines in its Cheongju plant. Even though it operates the plant at full capacity, it is unable to catch up with the demand as the TV size gets bigger and smartphone sales rise rapidly.
In addition, the company took into account of the fact that the share of China in total demand is increasing steadily in deciding on the plant in China. Wuxi, a city located in southern Jiangsu Province near Shanghai to the east, hosts many technology companies in the areas of smartphone and TV.
According to its own forecast, the polarizing film market in China will grow an annual average of 16 percent to 2020 from this year, which is much higher than that of the world market growth at 6 percent. Samsung SDI plans to build the plant with an annual capacity of 4,000 square meters at the cost of 200 billion won.
This is equivalent to producing 20 million 48-inch LCD TVs. The plant will be designed to produce polarizing films optimized for large-sized TVs over 40 inches.
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