China gets high-end LCD production line

NANJING -- China is on course to join international competition in the high-end LCD market with the launch of an advanced production line for power-saving and high-resolution screens.

State-owned China Electronics Corp (CEC) said on Monday that the production line, using 8.5 Generation IGZO, or indium gallium zinc oxide display technology, has been put into action by the company's Panda Electronics subsidiary in Nanjing, capital of east China's Jiangsu Province.

With an investment of 29.15 billion yuan ($4.75 billion) from Panda Electronics, the production line is designed with an annual output capacity of 720,000 glass substrates, which will be applicable for cell phones, notebooks, laptops, monitors and televisions.

IGZO is a world-leading display technology. The CEC said the new products will have a pixel density up to 700 pixels per inch (ppi), compared to the 403 ppi pixel density of Apple's latest iPhone models. Meanwhile, the new displays will also use less power, with power endurance up to seven times that of traditional displays.

CEC vice general manager Lai Weide said the technological breakthrough could propel China into one of the world's largest production hubs for high-end flat panel displays.

Ouyang Zhongcan, a professor at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, said despite China's increasing production capacity of display products, high-end display products will still be in great demand, especially in emerging markets.