Taiwan Today

Taiwan’s thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal-display panel producer AU Optronics Corp. will establish a new manufacturing plant in the Slovak Republic, the company announced Dec. 2. AUO Chairman K.Y. Lee signed an investment agreement with Lubomir Jahnatek, economic minister of the Slovak Republic, Dec. 1 in the European country. Slovakian Deputy Prime Minister Dusan Caplovic and Representative Chen Chiun-ming of the Taipei Representative Office in Bratislava were at the signing ceremony to witness the historic moment. According to AUO, the company has established AU Optronics (Slovakia) s.r.o. in the central European country, and will invest more than 190 million euro (US$280 million) in the new venture from 2010. The facility will be responsible for manufacturing, assembling and selling large-sized LCD modules. The plant is AUO’s second manufacturing base in Europe after the Czech Republic. It is also one of the biggest investment projects in the Slovak Republic since the financial crisis in 2008. Lee said during the signing ceremony Europe is one of the major markets for LCD TVs. AUO also sees Europe as a highly potential growth market for the company’s green business. To provide clients direct and prompt support, strengthen AUO’s global presence and be closer to customers, AUO has opted to set up the plant in the country. Located in the center of the European continent, the Slovak Republic joined the Eurozone in 2009. The country’s competitive human resources and rising national productivity driven by a stable domestic economy are the key considerations behind AUO’s decision, the company said. (SFC-THN)