In July 2017 LG Display announced that it has decided to build a 8.5-Gen (2200x2500) OLED TV production line in Guangzhou. The Korean government hesitated whether to approve this plan, as it sees OLED as a strategic technology Korea' economy, but by the end of 2017 LGD got the approval for its new OLED TV fab.
LGD is still waiting for an approval from the Chinese authorities, and according to today's Korea Times report, the Chinese government is expected to approve LG's plans. Apparently China hesitated as it aims to help the country's own OLED industry, but it hopes that local companies will benefit with a close partnership with LGD.
The new fab in Guangzhou will have a capacity of 60,000 8.5-Gen substrates each month, although at the first phase (scheduled for the second half of 2019) it will operate at half the final capacity.
Building a fab in China has several advantages - China has lower wages compared to Korea, and the fab is located very close to the very large and important Chinese market. But the main advantage is the government subsidies - according to DSCC this could mean the difference between profit and loss in this fab for LGD.
