Samsung announced the official launch of Samsung Display as a new company, according to an April 2, 2012 press release by Samsung. Business operations have begun on April 3, 2012. Beginning as a R&D unit of Samsung Electronics in 1991, Samsung Display now hires approximately 20,000 employees and has five production facilities around the world. It is reported that Samsung Display plans to merge with Samsung Mobile Display in July 2012 and starts to shift its focus from LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) to OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diode) manufacturing.