Samsung Electronics forms LED venture with sister firm

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- South Korean electronics giant Samsung Electronics
Co. launched a joint venture with a sister company on Thursday to produce
light-emitting diodes (LEDs) used mainly in TVs and other displays.
Samsung LED Co., a 50-50 joint venture with Samsung Electro-Mechanics Co., is
based in Suwon, 46 km south of Seoul, Samsung Electronics said, without
disclosing details such as its annual capacity.
LEDs are known to have many advantages to traditional light sources, including
low energy consumption, longer lifetime and a smaller size.
The chief executive officer of the joint venture said the market for LEDs will
grow rapidly. "The LED industry is growing much faster than expected," Kim
Jae-wook told a launching ceremony.
According to market watchers, competition among global TV makers has spurred
demand for LEDs as they are increasingly being used as backlights for TVs to
illuminate the display.
The global LED market, which was worth US$5.2 billion in 2008, is forecast to
grow at an annual average of 20 percent, reaching US$12.7 billion in 2013. The
market size is expected to rise to $24 billion in 2015, they said.
ygkim@yna.co.kr
(END)