The display panel business will see stable growth next year despite the sluggish demand for laptops and computer monitors, a display research company said Friday.

DisplaySearch said the demand for liquid crystal display panels will grow to 154 million square meters next year, up by 9 percent from this year’s 141 million square meters.

“Though shipment of laptops and monitors is in decline, large-screen televisions will lead the growth in panel markets,” said DisplaySearch vice president David Hsieh.

The global shipment volume of LCD panels for TVs is expected to grow 5.7 percent to 241 million units from this year’s 228 million. Shipments for 50-inch and larger panels are expected to rise 18.5 percent to 32 million units from this year’s 27 million, according to the report.

Samsung Display and LG Display are also expected to focus on large-size panels next year. “Globally, there is still demand for LCD panels from cathode-ray tube and plasma display users,” said Shinhan Investment analyst John Seo.

Samsung Display completed construction on an eighth-generation LCD plant capable of producing 75,000 panels in Suzhou, China, in October, two months earlier than market expectations.

LG Display is also expected to move up the completion period of its eighth-generation LCD plant in Guangzhou, China, to the second half of next year, an industry source said.

By Shin Ji-hye (shinjh@heraldcorp.com)