August 30, 2006 – Chinese manufacturers of thin-film transistor liquid-crystal displays (TFT-LCD) will invest between $4-$5 billion on equipment and materials per year in 2007-2008, according to a new report from SEMI. The firm projects that while TFT-LCD manufacturing slows for the rest of the world, new fabs coming online in China will boost domestic capacity by 35% next year and 50% in 2008, possibly giving China as much as 20%-30% of the total world market for TFT-LCD equipment.

“To date, there has been very little production of TFT-LCD materials or components in China,” said Mark Ding, president of SEMI China. “However, the influx of both Chinese and foreign-owned companies that are beginning to establish these local facilities is helping to significantly grow this market.”

China currently is home to two G5 TFT-LCD fabs in production, another new G5 site coming online, and an existing G5 expansion project, plus one G1 plant as well as three Chinese-owned G2-G3 lines in Korea. Other domestic investments in TFT-LCD capacity include a G2.5 project from Truly Semiconductor, a G4.5 line at Shanghai Tianma, and G5 expansion by IVO. In the wings are a G5 project from Shenzhen Innolux, and two G6 plants by Shenzhen Jiulong and Shanghai SVA-NEC.