BERLIN, May 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Germany is a leading European market for flat panel displays. In 2007, nearly 4.5 million units of liquid crystal display (LCD) and plasma television sets were sold in Germany. Germany's large consumer market plus the country's strong R&D landscape and the presence of next-generation companies are attracting investors from all points on the value chain to Germany. Companies can learn about potential investment opportunities in Germany at the SID Display Week in Los Angeles, California, May 18-23, 2008.

Market volume in Germany for flat panel display (FPD) TVs has grown by an average annual rate of 167% over the last five years. Germany's dense network of suppliers for materials, components, and equipment enables new entrants to be close to business partners as well as customers. Furthermore Germany's stellar infrastructure allows for products to move rapidly throughout the country and for firms to use Germany as a distribution point to any location worldwide.

The German market is also attracting flat panel display investors because it is a platform where a growing market can interact with market leaders engaging in next-generation research. For example, in printed electronics and organic semiconductor innovation, Germany is a center for groundbreaking industrial developments.

In 2007, the British company Plastic Logic Ltd. chose the eastern German city of Dresden as its location for volume production of flexible displays that will allow end-users to read books or newspapers in a hand-held and electric form.

This investment came soon after the Scottish firm Micro Emissive Displays (MED) announced that it would be opening a production location in Dresden to assemble its trademarked polymer organic-light-emitting-diode (P-OLED) eyescreen product.

The presence of world-renowned research institutes, such as the Fraunhofer Institute for Photonic Microsystems (IPMS), fast approval procedures, and the proximity to business partners were major reasons that the two companies chose Dresden and Germany.

These investments show that at all points on the supply chain companies can find success in Germany. Furthermore the availability of government incentives, that sometimes cover up to 50% of investment costs, makes Germany an even more promising investment location.

Invest in Germany is the inward investment promotion agency of the Federal Republic of Germany. It provides investors with comprehensive support from site selection to the implementation of investment decisions.

Media Contact: Eva Henkel, T. +49-30-200-099-173, F. +49-30-200-099-111, henkel@invest-in-germany.com .

Media Contact: Eva Henkel, T. +49-30-200-099-173, F. +49-30-200-099-111, henkel@invest-in-germany.com .