Samsung splits its LCD business into the world's largest display company

Samsung announced on April 2 that it has split the liquid crystal display business (LCD) to establish Samsung Display (Samsung Display). The new company will become the world's largest display manufacturer and will focus on the development and sales of display panel technology and panel products.

Samsung Display held an inauguration ceremony today and will officially begin operations on April 3 after submitting the registration documents. The company will have 20,000 employees and 5 factories located around the world. Prior to the spin-off, Samsung’s LCD business had already achieved a revenue of 22.7 trillion won (about 127.1 billion won). The new company’s operations will be independent of Samsung Electronics, which will allow the latter to compete for orders from smart device manufacturers including Apple. Samsung currently supplies components such as smartphones and tablet computers to Apple and other companies.

Samsung Display CEO Donggun Park previously served as Samsung Electronics' LCD business executive and executive vice president. He said, “We will continue to strive for a series of customized products that can bring great value to our customers, making Samsung Display a respected company. By always trying to stay at the forefront of market competition, we can make Samsung Display become The leader in the display market."

A few days ago, Hon Hai announced that it had invested in Sharp's display business. The move comes as big display companies compete for lucrative contracts from smartphones, tablets and consumer electronics makers. Samsung Display hopes to rely on its accumulated experience in the industry for 21 years to become the world's largest display manufacturer.