The joint venture between Philips and LG Electronics to produce flat panel screens has been finalised today. The 50-50 deal which saw Philips part with an investment of $1.6 billion, will realise instant profit for the Dutch electronics giant, which only last week announced lacklustre results. It is the largest single foreign investment into South Korea and is Philips' largest ever single investment, the company said. It creates the world's largest active matrix LCD manufacturing company. Recent problems with the industry-wide shortage of LCDs will help the joint venture get off to a flying start. Philips expects to see a growth rate of 20 per cent per year from the LCD operation. ®