Sony Corp. and Samsung Electronics Co. said Friday their joint venture, S-LCD Corp., will begin mass-producing the world's most advanced liquid-crystal-display panels in autumn next year.
The investment cost, estimated at $1.9 billion, will be shared evenly by the Japanese and South Korean companies so that S-LCD can produce 50,000 units per month, the two companies said.
The eighth-generation panel measures 2,200 mm × 2,500 mm, compared with 1,870 mm × 2,200 mm for the seventh-generation panels S-LCD now makes in Chungcheongnam-Do, South Korea.
The new panels will be made to meet an anticipated increase in demand for 50-inch LCD TVs, and S-LCD will also boost the production of seventh-generation panels to ensure sufficient supply, Sony and Samsung said in their joint statement.