Samsung (News - Alert) Electronics Co. and LG Display Co., the world's two largest flat-panel and liquid-crystal display (LCD) makers, received approval from the Chinese government to build LCD manufacturing plants in mainland China. This is a big step for the LCD makers, which previously preferred to keep their technology at home in Korea,

"There was some speculation that only one Korean company would get approval from China due to concerns about a supply glut, but both Samsung and LG Display have won approval from China," company officials said in a statement.  According to sources in Beijing, the State Council and China’s Cabinet, decided to grant approval to the South Korean manufacturers. An official announcement is expected to be released on Nov. 15.

At the beginning of this year, Samsung Electronics submitted to the Chinese government its plan to construct a 7.5-generation LCD factory in Suzhou, China, and its smaller rival LG Display planned to build an eighth-generation LCD panel plant in Guangzhou, China. Other competitors have tried and failed to win approval from the Chinese government in such ventures. With the recent success of Samsung Electronics and LG Display, Taiwan’s AU Optronics Corp., Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp., and Japan’s Sharp (News - Alert) Corp., are hoping to have similar success in winning approval from China to build LCD factories.In recent news,  Samsung Electronics said it targets global sales of up to one million units of its new portable PCs, the Galaxy Tab. "We believe it will be possible to sell one million units of the Galaxy Tab by the end of this year," said Shin Jong-kyun, president of the firm's mobile business unit, during a press event. Experts noted that the one million units seemed a highly feasible goal.

The Galaxy Tab will be the first mobile computer with wireless and 3G network connections that is realistically portable. Remaining conscious of Apple's (News - Alert) 9.7-inch iPad, Samsung was busy drawing attention to the lightweight aspect of the Galaxy Tab at a press event. The tablet is claimed to fit inside a man's suit pocket and weighs just 386 grams, about the weight of a paper cup full of coffee.