Jul. 26, 2010 (China Knowledge) - Corning Inc, the world's largest supplier of glass for liquid crystal displays, plans to invest about US$1 billion in the TV, automotive and life science markets in China, sources reported.
The U.S.-based company will invest about US$800 million to build a new LCD glass substrate factory in Beijing, which will have the latest glass-melting and finishing capabilities.
Corning plans to start construction on the plant in September and start production in the first half of 2012.
In addition, the company will spend about US$125 million expanding the Corning Shanghai Co automotive substrate facility and invest about US$40 million to build a new manufacturing and distribution facility for Corning Life Sciences in the Yangtze River Delta.
China's flat panel TV sales are expected to reach 59 million units in 2014 from 31 million in 2009. China will become the world's largest LCD market by 2012, according to DisplaySearch, a US-based research firm.