China's Tianma says to invest $53 mln in LCD line

SHANGHAI, July 23 (Reuters) - Tianma Microelectronics Co Ltd 000050.SZ said on Wednesday it plans to invest 360 million yuan ($52.72 million) to establish a thin-film transistor liquid crystal display production line in China's southwestern Sichuan province.

Tianma and two other firms will invest a total of 3 billion yuan in a 4.5-generation production line with planned monthly capacity of 30,000 wafers, Tianma said in a statement to the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.

Tianma will hold a 30 percent stake in the project, while Chendu Industry Investment Group Co Ltd will spend 513.6 million yuan for a 42.8 percent stake and Chendu Hi-tech Investment Group Co Ltd will spend 326.4 million yuan for a 27.2 percent stake.

Tianma's shares were up 10 percent at 8.53 yuan by 0628 GMT, outperforming a 0.2 percent fall in the Shenzhen index .SZSC.

Generally speaking, the higher the generation, the larger the size of the screen produced. A new generation is also usually based on a significant technological development from the previous one.

China's liquid display panel-making industry is dominated by three main players: BOE Technology Group Co Ltd 000725.SZ, SVA NEC Liquid Crystal Display Co Ltd, and InfoVision Optoelectronics, which focus mainly on fifth-generatio production. ($1=6.828 Yuan) (Reporting by Sophie Taylor; Editing by Ken Wills)