LG Group said on Monday it will increase its 2011 investment by 12 percent to a record 21 trillion South Korean won ($18.25 billion), in an effort to revive the struggling handset business of its core unit LG Electronics.

LG's units making consumer electronics will spend 14.2 trillion won.

The group will invest in LG Display's 8th generation LCD production line, that will focus in the production of medium -sized LCD panels and also LCDs for for tablet PCs and smartphones.

LG will also spend on other sectors by adding three production lines to its solar cell business, boosting a production capacity to 330MW, while it will also invest on LED lighting product lines in 2012.

The group will spend 3.6 trillion won in the chemicals business, with LG Chem Ltd. planning to boost output of batteries for electric cars. LG UPlus Corp. will spend 3.2 trillion won on new mobile and wireless networks, it said.

Investments in R&D will reach the 4.7 trillion won, the LG Group said. In the electronics sector, LG aims at developing new technologies related to smartphones, Tablet PCs, smart TVs, 3D TVs, AM OLED displays, 3D LED panels and electronic papers.

R&D in the company's chemical sector will focus on the efficiency of next-generation battery technologies high-quality LCD glass substrates and LEDs.

The research spending on the communication ssectors will cover the needs for Wi-Fi and mobile networks, related to a variety of devices such as mobile phones or PCs that can take advantage of cloud services, based on a smart TV and mobile advertising platforms.

LG's announcement came after its rival, Samsung Electronics, said in September that it was considering investing a record 30 trillion next year to bolster existing operations and expand into new businesses, up from the 26 trillion planned for this year.