LG Display promotes slim displays in China
LG Display TV business division head Hwang Yong-ki speaks during an event to promote its Art Slim-branded panels to major customers and clients in Beijing, China, Thursday. / Courtesy of LG Display
By Kim Yoo-chul
LG Display has agreed with leading Chinese TV manufacturers to supply its advanced ultra-slim display panels to be used in premium televisions.
The world's biggest display panel supplier said it has agreed to supply Art Slim-branded liquid crystal display (LCD) panels for upcoming TV lineups by Chinese companies such as Skyworth, Konka and Changhong.
Hisense and Haier, other major technology companies in China, plan to use LG displays in their new TV lineups, officials said.
The Art Slim-branded panels have two versions ― 55-inch and 65-inch. The thickness of the Slim panel for a 55-inch TV is 7.5 millimeters, while that of a 65-inch panel is 8.2 millimeters.
“The main feature of the Art Slim is that the panel allows the back cover of an LCD module to become a TV set and that will help TV makers save costs as they don't need to get an additional case to wrap the finished goods,” company spokesman Hyun Dong-hoon said.
Hyun said LG is eyeing Europe and Japan. The number of TV lineups using LG displays will be expanded to 20 by this year from the current 10, according to the spokesman.
LG Display held a promotional event in China, inviting key customers and retail channels. It runs the world's biggest LCD lines in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, with huge support from the Chinese government.
LG's move comes after its chief rival Samsung Display has pushed its sales of curved displays in its key markets.
LG Electronics, the biggest shareholder of LG Display, plans to pursue a two-track approach in its TV business ― premium TVs with OLED screens and mid- and low-tier TVs with Slim panels.