Taiwan's Chi Mei Opto-electronics (CMO) officially kicked off construction of a massive TFT-LCD (thin film transistor liquid crystal display) works in Guangdong on July 24, 2006.

The project, in Foshan's Nanhai Dis-trict, was granted permission by Taiwan authorities in late June, and is both the largest TFT-LCD factory in the province as well as the largest overseas invest-ment project in Foshan.

CMO, based in Taiwan, is one of the world's leading TFT-LCD suppliers and its key products are large-size TFT-LCD panels for laptops, desktop monitors, and televisions.

Its total investment for the Nanhai CMO project surpasses 2 billion USD. And the initial phase, which is set to begin production in late 2007, entails a capital investment of 30 million USD.

“Guangdong is developing the TFT-LCD industry into a key industry in the Eleventh Five Year Plan Period (2006-2010) and the Nanhai CMO project is expected to make a tremendous contr-ibution to the future development of the industry in the province," said Guang-dong Vice-Governor Tong Xing.

The senior official added that the province's strategy to develop the TFT-LCD industry is based on the demand generated by the sustained development of the television and computer ind-ustries in Guangdong.

Guangdong has long been China's key manufacturing base for televisions and computers, and televisions made in the province account for as many as 47 percent of the nation's total. "The television industry in the province needs to be upgraded with the latest tech-nological developments, including TFT-LCD, to guarantee sustained develop-ment." said Tong.

For CMO, its new plant in Nanhai "will strengthen our total manufacturing strategy and cost competitiveness," said Jack Lin, senior vice-president of CMO.

Lin said that the Nanhai project will produce 2 million liquid crystal modules (LCM) per month and is expected to reach a gross industrial output value of 10 billion USD in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Lin also added that the mainland's television and computer industries have been developing very rapidly, increasing demand for TFT-LCD panels. "The 2008 Beijing Olympics alone will mean a substantial business opportunity for us," said Lin.

Official statistics indicate that in 2005, Guangdong imported 8.5 billion USD worth of high-end crucial component elements including integrated circuit boards and new types of monitors. Work is expected to begin on another two TFT-LCD projects in Guangzhou and Shenzhen later this year.    

Editor: Yan