LG Display to supply panels for Apple's iPod

LG Display Co., the world's second-largest maker of liquid-crystal displays (LCD), is scheduled to supply panels to Apple Inc. for use in its "iPod" portable multimedia players within the year, LG officials said Thursday.

"(We) will begin providing 3.5-inch LCD panels to be used in iPods within the year," Kwon Young-soo, chief executive of LG Display, said at an investors meeting in Seoul on Wednesday after the company's quarterly earnings was announced, according to company officials. Further details of the deal were not disclosed.

Kwon also said that LG Display has recently forged a laptop computer LCD supply deal with Dell Inc., but did not reveal details.

"Our plan to invest in a new line in the Gumi plant is to allow stable production for Dell and other laptop makers," Kwon said, referring to a factory in the town of Gumi, about 260 km southeast of Seoul.

The chief executive also said that he recently met up with a ranking official at Royal Philips Electronics NV, a co-founder of LG Display, and requested for the Dutch company to remain as a 'strategic investor" in LG.

LG Display, formerly known as LG.Philips LCD Co., was formed as a 50-50 venture between LG Electronics Co. and Philips in 1999 but the Dutch partner has reduced its ownership to 13.2 percent to raise cash for dividends and acquisitions.

The South Korean company reported Wednesday that its second-quarter bottom line tripled from a year earlier to 759 billion won (US$749 million) thanks to improved productivity and an increase in overseas demand.

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