Samsung is in the final stages of talks with Sony to jointly build a new LCD panel production line and the two may cooperate on another, bigger line, Reuters reported yesterday citing a Samsung source said on Wednesday. Sony, which runs a joint venture to produce LCD panels with Samsung, said on Tuesday it would take a one-third stake in Sharp 's $3.5 billion LCD panel plant in Japan to meet rising demand for flat-screen TVs.

The move announced on Tuesday had raised concerns in the Korean market that Sony might not cooperate with Samsung in future projects, although Sony President Ryoji Chubachi pledged to continue running S-LCD, its joint venture with Samsung.

"We've almost wrapped up discussions with Sony for the 8-2 (eighth generation/line 2) production line and it's been going well," said the Samsung source, who asked not be named.

The new plant would be located at the company's LCD production complex south of Seoul. Sony and Samsung, the world's biggest maker of large-sized LCDs, are already operating the 8-1 line, an eighth-generation line in the S-LCD complex.

The investment size for the new line has not yet been set but will likely be similar to the 8-1 line, the source said.

Samsung believes it is still possible to work with Sony on a bigger 10th generation LCD production line, the source said.