Panasonic announced today that the company will move a part of plasma display panel production facilities at its third domestic PDP plant in Amagasaki City, near Osaka, to Panasonic Plasma Display (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. (PPDS) in Shanghai, China, to better respond to robust demand for flat-panel TVs in China.

PPDS, established in January 2001 as a joint venture between Panasonic, then called Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., and Shanghai City, commenced operations in December of the same year and has been engaged in production of plasma display panels and assembling TV sets. The company is producing the equivalent of 25,000 42-inch plasma display panels per month at its plant in Pudong New Area. To accommodate the additional production facility and maximize production efficiencies, PPDS plans to relocate to the nearby Pudong Jinqiao Development Zone. The new production facility plans to commence production with a monthly capacity equivalent to approximately 120,000 42-inch panels in April 2012, Panasonic said. The company intends to maximize production efficiency by further utilizing the integrated production system from plasma display panels to assembling TV sets.

The flat-panel TV market is expected to continue growing globally, exceeding 240 million sets in 2012. China's flat-panel TV market is likely to surpass 50 million units by that time, becoming the world's largest. The demand for plasma TVs with large-screen and high picture quality is also expected to grow in China driven by digital TV broadcasting and increased consumer interest in Full HD 3D plasma TVs.

The build-up of PPDS will give Panasonic a stronger structure to meet the growing demand in China as well as enable Panasonic to improve the group-wide cost competitiveness, thereby Panasonic continues to push ahead with its growth strategy in the global flat-panel TV market.