LG to invest $8.6 bn on OLED TV technology

South Korean electronics giant LG will invest nearly $8.6 billion globally over the next three years in OLED TV technology, a top official of the company said.

"We are looking to invest nearly $8.6 billion over the next three years globally because we feel that OLED will become an industry standard technology in the years to come. We have seen the demand grow exponentially," Howard Lee, director of entertainment at LG India, told IANS at the sidelines of a launch event here.

OLED or organic light emitting diode is a technology which produces better quality images in terms of resolution and colour.

According to LG, the demand for OLED will see a rise from 5,000 units in 2013 to 1 million units by 2016-end.

About India's contribution to OLED TVs' revenue, Lee said India contributes only 1.5-2 percent of the total. "We are launching these TVs in India as there are many hi-tech-loving consumers in the country," he said.

The company also launched two premium segment TVs with 4K resolution priced at Rs.5,79,990 and Rs.3,84,900, respectively, for India.

The 4K resolution is the higher version of full high-definition technology and supports 4096 x 2160 pixels which results in sharper images.

Lee also said that the company has plans to launch larger-sized screens and flat TVs with OLED technology. Currently, LG manufactures only curved OLED TVs.

The new TVs come with LG-developed WebOS 2.0 system for a smart TV experience and sound-engineering company Harmon Kardon's sound bar.

According to Lee, the company is producing all OLED TVs at its plant in Pune and has recently doubled the annual production capacity from 1.5 million units to three million units.