Osram, a global lighting manufacturer, recently announced that its new 6" LED chip plant in Kulim, Malaysia, has begun operations, Business Wire reported on November 23. A total of 370 million Euro (USD440 million, USD1= 0.8 Euro) has been invested into the plant, which started the construction in 2015. Osram stated that it is going to spend additional 1 billion Euro (USD1.2 billion, USD1= 0.8 Euro) for the next two stages of expansion, including expansion of LED assembly capacities in its global factory alliance. The plant will produce blue LED chips using a converter layer and generating white light for use in general lighting purposes, such as public street lighting, façade lighting, private and commercial interior and exterior lighting, and billboards, as well as premium applications, such as automotive lighting and video projection. In addition to Kulim, Malaysia, the company is also working on expanding the capacity of its five sites worldwide that produce LED chips and locate at Schwabmunchen (Germany), Regensburg (Germany), Exeter (United Kingdom), Wuxi (China), and Penang (Malaysia).