UPDATE 1-NEC says may close LCD plant in Japan

* NEC considering closing LCD panel plant in Kagoshima

* Plant makes industrial-use LCD panels, employs 370 workers (Recasts with company confirmation, adds details)

TOKYO, March 4 (Reuters) - Japan's NEC Corp (6701.T) said on Wednesday it was considering closing a liquid crystal display plant in southern Japan, as the company faces a $3 billion annual loss amid a global glut in the LCD sector.

LCD panel makers worldwide are struggling to cope with slowing demand and falling prices.

The factory, owned by NEC LCD Technologies Ltd, employs 370 workers and makes industrial-use LCD panels, mainly small to mid-size panels for products such as point-of-sale terminals and mobile devices.

NEC LCD Technologies has another plant in Akita, northern Japan, which is not subject to closure.

NEC said in January that it was looking for ways to get out of the industrial LCD display-related business and cut its groupwide workforce by 20,000 people by March 2010.

The company expects to post a net loss of 290 billion yen ($3 billion) in the year ending this month, due mainly to its struggling chip business and restructuring costs.

NEC shares were up 2.7 percent at 229 yen as of 0415 GMT, outperforming a 0.3 percent gain in the benchmark Nikkei average .N225. (Reporting by Taiga Uranaka and Sachi Izumi; Editing by Hugh Lawson)