(2nd LD) LG Chem to sell LCD polarizer unit to Chinese firm for $1.1 bln

All News 11:24 June 10, 2020

(ATTN: ADDS Samsung Display's LCD business plan in last 3 paras)

SEOUL, June 10 (Yonhap) -- LG Chem Ltd., South Korea's leading chemical company, said Wednesday it will sell its liquid crystal display (LCD) polarizer business unit to a Chinese firm to focus on core businesses.

LG Chem has signed a deal to sell the LCD polarizer-related business unit to Shanghai Shanshan Chemical Co., Ltd. for 1.3 trillion won (US$1.1 billion), the company said in a statement.

"We are selling the unit of LCD polarizers needed to produce TVs and handsets, but we will keep the unit of LCD polarizers used in automobiles," a company spokesman said over the phone.

The planned sale is subject to approval from LG Chem's board of directors and Shanshan's shareholders meeting, the statement said.

(2nd LD) LG Chem to sell LCD polarizer unit to Chinese firm for $1.1 bln - 1

The decision is in line with the company's plan to foster the high-end organic light emitting diode (OLED) business as a future growth driver. It is also a leading player in the country's car battery market.

LG Chem said it aims to foster OLED polarizers in the IT materials business sector as its next growth driver.

From January to March, LG Chem's net profit plunged 83 percent to 36.35 billion won from 211.94 billion won in the same period of last year.

Operating profit fell 16 percent to 236.46 billion won in the first quarter from 281.04 billion won a year earlier. Sales rose 7.5 percent to 7.12 trillion won from 6.62 trillion won during the same period.

Faced with challenges from smaller Chinese rivals, another South Korean panel maker, Samsung Display Co., has also decided to suspend production of LCD products in South Korea and China this year.

Samsung Display plans to invest 13.1 trillion won in the high-end quantum dot display (QLED) business and related research and development activities by 2025, a company spokeswoman said.

A quantum dot display is a display device that uses quantum dots, semiconductor nanocrystals which can produce pure monochromatic red, green and blue light.

kyongae.choi@yna.co.kr
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