Korea's LG Display announced on April 15 the completion of its second 6G LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) panel production line in Gumi, North Gyeongsang Province, according to Korea's Maeil Business Newspaper and The Korea Times. LG Display spent 1.3 trillion Won (US$971.10 million; US$1=1338.7 Won) on construction its second 6G line, also known as P6E. Thus far, LG Display has invested a total of 13 trillion Won (US$9.71 billion) in its Gumi LCD manufacturing complex since 1995. P6E will mainly manufacture LCD panels with 16:9 aspect ratio for use in monitors and notebook PCs. Initially the monthly output at P6E is estimated at 15,000 units and is expected to expand to 60,000 by the year-end. LG Display plans to hire 1,500 new employees for the new production line.
In addition, LG Display has also confirmed recent reports that the company is in talks with Japan's Sony over LCD panel supply, according to TMCnet. Although the two companies have not reached conclusive results on the deal, it is expected that LG Display will provide Sony with 37-, 42- and 47-inch LCD panels, all sizes not served by S-LCD, the LCD panel manufacturing joint venture between Sony and Samsung. At present, about 60% of Sony's LCD TV panels are supplied by S-LCD, while the rest is mostly provided by Taiwan's AUO.