South Korea's Samsung Electronics said on Friday it will set up a joint venture to build a liquid crystal display (LCD) plant costing about 2.6 trillion won (2.23 billion dollars) in eastern China.

Samsung, the world's biggest supplier of LCD panels, said in a statement it will spend 925.2 billion won on the 7.5th-generation plant in Suzhou.

The firm declined to give financial details, name its partner or say how big a stake it would hold.

"Everything regarding the financial details will be available only when both the Korean and Chinese governments approve the plan," spokesman James Chung told Dow Jones Newswires.

The company has chosen China to exploit demand there for televisions with screens larger than 40 inches, Chung said.

A so-called 7.5th-generation plant can make panels bigger than 40 inches while 8th-generation factories can produce panels bigger than 50 inches.

Earlier this week rival LG Display announced a joint venture for a planned four billion dollar 8th-generation LCD plant in China, which is seen as a major growth market for LCD makers.