(Yicai Global) July 30 -- Construction work at San'an Optoelectronics' new CNY12 billion (USD1.7 billion) LED chip and epitaxial wafer manufacturing base started yesterday, reinforcing its position as the country's leading maker of light-emitting diodes, local news website Cnhubei reported.

The plant will mainly produce mini and micro LED chips, which are a new generation of LED chip technology, as well as sealed products for 4K resolution displays. Customers will include such world-renowned companies as Apple, Samsung Electronics and Huawei Technologies. It is expected to achieve annual sales revenue of CNY7.2 billion and profit of CNY1.8 billion, the Xiamen-based company said.

Covering an area of around half a square kilometer, the factory will be located in the Gedian Economic and Technology Development Zone in Ezhou, central Hubei province. It should start operation within three years and realize target capacity within four years, San'an said in a statement released in April.

Mini LEDs are an improvement on traditional LED technology and are widely used in televisions, smart phones and laptops. Micro LEDs are a new generation display technology that can be applied to the latest wearable devices, mobile phones, augmented and virtual reality products, public information shows.