LG Display turns on new Korean plant to meet demand

To meet fresh demand for televisions in the mainland's countryside, LG Display, the world's second-largest maker of thin-film transistor liquid crystal display, has begun mass production at a plant in South Korea.

'The start of mass production in the eighth-generation plant [in Paju, Korea] will enable LG Display to actively respond to growing market demand further stimulated by narrowed price gap between LCD televisions and cathode-ray-tube televisions, and the rapidly increasing Chinese market, thanks to the [mainland] government's 'home appliances to the countryside' policy,' the company said yesterday.

The four-year home 'appliances to the countryside' scheme was launched on February 1 as part of the central government's initiatives to help stimulate domestic electronics manufacturing and consumption in the mainland's rural areas.

Rural families will receive subsidies to buy two home appliances each under the policy rolled out nationwide last month. More than 200 million households are expected to be eligible for a subsidy equal to 13 per cent of the prices of home appliances they bought.

The central government will answer for 80 per cent of the rebate provided to rural consumers, while 20 per cent will be met by the provincial government.

Sichuan Changhong Electric Group, a leading mainland manufacturer of television sets and other electronics appliances, has projected it could generate up to 8 billion yuan (HK$9.07 billion) in revenue this year as a participant in the government subsidy programme.