Samsung Display broke ground for a new plant that will manufacture organic light-emitting diode (OLED) panels - an invesment estimated at more than 12$ billion.

The A4 fab built in Asan, South Chungcheong Province based on the same 6-generation (1850x1500mm) production line as the A3 location in Cheonan active since 2015, will be ready to start operation in the latter half of next year capable of turning out 135,000 substrates a month. These supplies are enough to mount on 20 million to 30 million phones, according to Samsung.

Samsung Display is leading the small-sized OLED panel market, but so far the company mainly supplies its displays to Samsung Electronics. Its expansion comes after demand from Apple and Chinese smart phone makers shifting to flexible displays over hard liquid crystal displays.

Samsung Group said capital investment in semiconductor and display would sharply increase this year due to strong demand.