SAMSUNG Electronics and LG Display, the world's top two LCD panel makers, will invest a total of over US$6 billion to build two advanced panel plants in China, the firms said yesterday.

Samsung, the world's No. 1 LCD (liquid crystal display) panel maker, received approval to construct a 7.5-generation LCD plant in Suzhou in Jiangsu Province and will invest 2.6 trillion won (US$2.26 billion) in it, Zou Jikai, Samsung China's spokesperson, confirmed, without elaborating.

LG Display, the world's No. 2 LCD panel maker, got the green light to spend US$4 billion for an 8th-generation plant in Guangzhou in Guangdong Province, Reuters said yesterday.

These next-generation LCD panel plants allow firms to make bigger-sized LCD screens to meet demand for TVs of 40-inch or above. Most LCD facilities in China now are fifth or sixth generation, according to experts.