LG to invest $7B to boost its OLED production

LG has announced that it will invest 7.8 trillion won ($7 billion) to increase its OLED production capacity. The South Korean company wants to gain a bigger foothold in the OLED market which is currently dominated by Samsung by far. Apple is tipped to adopt OLED displays for the iPhone 8 that is expected in the second half of 2017.

The new funding, which LG Display disclosed as part of its second-quarter earnings call brings LG Display’s total ongoing investment into OLED to 15 trillion won (about $13.5 billion). Around 5 trillion won is earmarked for a new line of flexible OLED aimed at bolstering its position in auto displays and smartphones while 2.8 trillion won will go toward a separate new line of large-size OLED screens. LG also says that it plans to invest into two new OLED production lines in Korea and Guangzhou, China.

LG's declaration comes very shortly after reports claim that Samsung is also looking to expand its own manufacturing capability to make up for demand and production shortfall.

According to LG, the OLED smartphone display market is expected to grow from 120 million units in 2017 to 370 million units in 2020. The company also said that its second quarter operating profit soared to 804 million won($721 million) from the 44.4 million won a year earlier.