AU seeks Taiwan approval of new China LCD plant

TAIPEI, March 15 (Reuters) - Taiwan's AU Optronics Corp (2409.TW), the world's No. 3 LCD maker, said on Monday it has applied to the Taiwan government for approval to set up a new LCD factory in China, with investment of about $3 billion.

AU Optronics (AUO.N) said in a statement that the investment would help it strengthen its competitiveness in the LCD TV market on the mainland, which industry analysts say would become the world's largest TV consumer market soon.

The announcement came after the Taipei stock market had closed. AU shares rose 0.14 percent, compared with the main TAIEX's .TWII 1.46 percent drop. (US$1=T$31.8) (Reporting by Baker Li, Editing by Jonathan Standing and Ken Wills)