China's roaring demand for flat screen TVs is driving fierce competition between major domestic and foreign brands.

 

More and more flat screen TVs, including LCD and plasma TVs, have been sold over the past two years, as high-definition and digital TV broadcasting is introduced across China.

 

By the year 2008, high-definition TV programs will be broadcast into every Chinese househould.

 

The latest State Council Development and Research Center statistics show that in the first half of this year a total of 2.12 million flat screen TVs were sold in the Chinese mainland, compared with last year's total of 1.85 million.

 

LCD TVs account for the majority of sales, but plasma screens dominate the big-screen market.

 

It is estimated that sales for the second half of this year will rise to more than 2.7 million, fuelled by China's annual purchasing peak during the first week in October, the National Day holiday.

 

"Though flat screen TV production accounts for only one tenth of the overall TV market, profit margin can be more than a half," Lu Renbo, deputy director of the market economy department with the centre, told China Daily.

 

Foreign flat screen TVs still dominate the market, for example both Samsung and Sony have begun producing their 7th generation LCD TVs, compared with major domestic brands, which are still manufacturing their 5th or 6th generations.

 

Moreover, Sony, as well as other foreign TV makers, has adopted low-price market strategies.

 

"On one hand foreign brands heavily endanger local ones, but on the other side their aggressive Chinese marketing campaigns have motivated market growth in the demand of large-screen LCD TVs," said Lu.

 

Lu predicted that with the large scale production of 50-inch plasma TVs, there will be sharper competition among large-screen flat screen TV markets. "Market changes will bring an increasing demand for 58-inch and even 65-inch TVs as well," He added.

 

"The growing market for flat panel TVs in China is incredible," said Lou Qinjian, vice-minister of the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), in Qingdao earlier this month.

 

"Domestic TV makers are currently generating less and less profit due to the intensifying competition and a lack of core technology related to screen manufacturing," said Lou. "The government strongly supports research and development in this area, and will continue to promote private technological ability for innovation."

 

In a new era of TV manufacturing, with the transition from analog to digital TVs, from cathode-ray tubes (CRT) to flat screens, the MII called for the establishment of a new TV manufacturing structure and for the convergence of digital TV engineering with computers, consumer electronics and communications.

 

Domestic TV leader Hisense introduced a total of 50 new types of TV sets this month.

 

]"With the advent of flat screens and new display and transmission technologies, TV sets are entering the multi-media era," said Hisense TV General Manager Liu Hongxin at a press conference last week. "Introducing the concept of 'U-home,' Hisense is developing an intelligent terminal platform the multi-media Hisense TV, which will combine digital camera, MP3 player, cell phone and many other home appliances."

 

TCL, another leading Chinese TV maker, emphasizes customer value as well as innovation.

 

"The flat screen technologies are vital, but not completely decisive. TCL integrates customer needs into our products following the latest consumer trends, such as sound system improvements and closer convergence with Internet and wireless technologies," said Peng Xiufeng, general manager of TCL Corp's television-making unit TTE Corp.

 

"We also make more efforts to come up with a fashionable design and not damage the environment when producing our TVs. We have already reached the high standards of the EU's new RoHS directives," added Peng.

 

(China Daily July 18, 2006)