Hitachi Ltd is the latest in a line of Japanese companies to announce new investment in thin film transistor liquid crystal display manufacturing. It is to build a 34bn yen ($322m) plant in Chiba Prefecture, doubling its LCD output capacity. The new plant will go into mass production in the second half of 2001 with an initial capacity of 20,000 glass substrates a month representing 80,000 20-inch displays. However the plans call for an eventual doubling of capacity.
Despite the recently announced expansion plans of other Japanese companies, with Sharp Corp investing 54bn yen ($507.8m), Matsushita Electrical Industrial Co 32bn yen ($300.9m); and NEC Corp and Toshiba Corp 10bn yen ($94m) each, a company spokesperson said Hitachi is confident the LCD market will continue to expand in the long term.
Many analysts predict the huge amount of new capacity coming on in South Korea and Taiwan coupled with the Japanese plans will result in a market glut within one or two years despite the current very tight supply situation.
