Flat panel maker Chimei Innolux Corp. said Tuesday that the monthly capacity of its 8.5th generation thin-film-transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) plant is expected to rise to 57,000 units in the third quarter of next year from the current 24,000 units. The expansion of capacity is expected to meet demand for large-sized flat panels, the company said. After the company's annual general meeting, company chief executive officer C.H. Tuan said products from the 8.5G plant have been overbooked, with monthly orders reaching 55,000 to 56,000 units. Tuan said the company has poured more than NT$40 billion (US$1.25 billion) into capacity expenditure so far this year, mainly to expand the capacity of the 8.5G plant and an older 6G plant. At the end of this year, the 8.5G plant is expected to be producing 27,000 units per month, he said. The 8.5G plant started operations at the beginning of this year, churning out flat panels for 50-inch TVs or larger. The company's 2010 capital expenditure is expected to total NT$100 billion. While rival AU Optronics sought regulatory approval in March to set up a 7.5G plant in Kunshan, in China's Jiangsu Province, after the government lifted a ban on such high tech investment, Tuan said Chimei Innolux has no immediate plans to do likewise. Tuan said the company will wait until the 8.5G plant has expanded its capacity to a certain level before going to China. The government in February relaxed China investment restrictions for the local high tech sector by allowing flat panel makers to build up to three 6G or above flat panel plants in China. However, local flat panel producers who want to build plants above 6G must operate plants in Taiwan that are at least one generation ahead in technology. 