Date:11/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/04/11/stories/2006041101840800.htm

Back LG to assemble LCD TVs in India

Neha Kaushik

`Demand may grow to 90,000 units this year'

Recently in Seoul

Keeping in view the high growth being seen in the premium colour televisions category, Korean consumer electronics major LG Electronics is planning to commence assembly of LCD (liquid crystal display) televisions in India this year. The company is also evaluating assembly of plasma televisions next year.

"We plan to start assembly of LCD TVs in India from the second half of this year, while plasma TVs would be sometime later next year," Mr Kiju Song, Director, Digital Display Overseas Sales & Marketing Division, LG Electronics, said.

The LCD televisions are likely to be assembled in LG's facility in Noida. LG is already assembling 15-inch and 17-inch LCD monitors at its Noida unit.

The market is, however, rapidly shifting to larger size LCDs such as 26-inch and 32-inch.

The LCD market in India was estimated at 18,000 units in 2005 with LG claiming a share of 22 per cent. The market size is expected to jump to 90,000 units in 2006.

The plasma display panel (PDP) TV market is also expected to double this year to 25,000 units as compared with 12,000 units in 2005. LG Electronics claimed a share of 23 per cent in the PDP segment last year, which it is targeting to grow to 48 per cent this year.

According to Mr Song, the growth in the market is being aided by the depreciation in prices of both PDPs and LCDs. "In fact, prices of LCDs may decline by as much as 25 per cent once we commence assembling these in India," he said.

Prices of PDPs came down by about 20 per cent globally last year and a further depreciation of 15 per cent is expected this year as volumes grow. PDPs are priced lesser then LCDs at screen sizes of over 37-inches.

LG will be importing the major components for both LCD and plasma TVs to India from its facilities in Gumi in South Korea. The company's Gumi factory for PDPs has a production capacity of 345,000 units per month, 85 per cent of which is exported. The digital display company is targeting to be the global top display company by 2010.