LG Display Is Investing $1.75 Billion in Flexible LED Screens

Newest Innovations In Consumer Technology On Display At 2014 International CES

LAS VEGAS, NV - JANUARY 05: The LG Electronics LG G Flex phone is shown at a press event at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center for the 2014 International CES on January 5, 2014 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The company touts the unit as the world's first curved flexible smart phone featuring a 6-inch, curved P-OLED screen. CES, the world's largest annual consumer technology trade show, runs from January 7-10 and is expected to feature 3,200 exhibitors showing off their latest products and services to about 150,000 attendees. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images

South Korea’s LG Display (LPL) said on Wednesday it will invest 1.99 trillion won ($1.75 billion) to boost capacity for flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) displays, its latest attempt to meet growing demand from mobile device makers.

OLED is widely expected to replace liquid crystal displays (LCD) for smartphones as the standard technology in a few years, and flexible displays can be curved or folded.

LG, the world’s largest maker of LCDs, has been focusing on making OLED screens for televisions and is trailing behind Samsung Display, an unlisted unit of Samsung Electronics (SSNLF) that is the largest maker of OLEDs for smartphones.

LG, in a regulatory filing, said it was building a new production line for small-to-medium sized flexible OLED screens in South Korea to address growing demand.

“A paradigm shift to OLED represents both a challenge and an opportunity for the display industry,” LG Display Chief Executive Han Sang-beom said in a statement.