LG Electronics is set to invest more than US$18 billion in 2011, a 12 percent increase on 2010, in order to strengthen the performance in its core operating businesses. According to Reuters, the company has identified smartphones and tablets as focus areas, alongside televisions and large-screen displays. The company recently announced record losses from its handset business, as it failed to exploit growth in the smartphone market and increased its development and marketing spend to buoy its faltering mass-market device business. LG is also set to invest in new areas such as solar cells and small-sized displays for smartphones and tablets.

While LG is the third-largest handset maker after Nokia and Samsung, its shipment volumes are sliding and unlike its rivals, it has yet to make its mark on the smartphone space. However, in November 2010 it said that it had sold one million of its Android-powered Optimus One devices, making it the fastest selling handset in its history, with the company stating that it “expects Optimus One to be its first 10-million-seller smartphone.” It is also offering devices powered by Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 platform. LG announced the appointment of a new CEO in September 2010, in a move that was seen as the company looking to address weakness in its core businesses. In addition to investments in its consumer electronics business, LG noted that its LG Uplus mobile operator business in South Korea is set to invest KRW3.2 trillion (US$2.8bn) in network infrastructure.