Samsung bets on new LCD TVs

A senior executive of Samsung Electronics said yesterday that next-generation liquid crystal display televisions (LCD TVs) will become a new growth engine for the LCD industry."The next-generation LCD TVs will open a new market for the LCD industry," Chang Won-kie, vice president of Samsung Electronics, said in a keynote speech at the FPD International, an exhibition on flat panel displays, in Yokohama, Japan."So far, the LCD business has undergone three turning points," he said, referring to the development of laptop LCDs, monitor LCDs and TV LCDs."Those new LCDs have driven the growth of the LCD industry," Chang said.He forecasted that the industry would face another turning point after 2010 when LCD sales were likely to stagnate.The executive said Samsung, the world`s top LCD maker, was considering building the 11th generation line to meet the rising demand for 40-inch and larger LCD panels.Using just one glass plate, the 11th-generation line is able to produce six 72-inch LCD panels, eight 62-inch panels, 15 46-inch panels and 18 40-inch panels, Samsung said.Under Samsung`s plan, its 40-inch and larger LCDs will account for 70 percent of its total displays, and shipments of its 60-inch and larger displays will reach 1 million in 2012.