Konica Minolta to spend $118 mln on LCD film plant
TOKYO,
April 06 – Konica Minolta Holdings Inc said on Friday it will invest
about 14 billion yen ($118 million)to build a fifth factory for a type
of optical film used to make liquid crystal displays to meet surging
demand for LCD TVs.
The
news helped shares in Konica Minolta rise 1.9 percent to 1,530 yen by
midday, compared with a slight fall in the broad market.The Tokyo-based
company plans to start the factory for triacetyl cellulose (TAC) film
in Kobe, western Japan, in autumn 2007, aiming to boost output by 50
million square metres to 170 million square metres.Konica Minolta,
which sees the TAC film market growing 30-40 percent a year, plans to
raise its TAC film sales to 46 billion yen in the year ending March
2009 from about 30 billion yen estimated for the year ended in March
2006.Konica Minolta has about a 20 percent market share in the TAC film
business, while Fuji Photo Film Co. Ltd. controls the rest