USA: Shipments of LCD TVs to Southeast Asia are likely to rise by more than a factor of eight from 2007 to 2012, due to a combination of falling prices, increased user awareness, economic strength and rising consumer affluence in the region, according to iSuppli Corp.

LCD TV shipments to the region will rise to 13.5 million units in 2012, expanding at a CAGR of 53.9 percent from 1.6 million units in 2007. This represents an increase of more than a factor of eight. LCD-TV shipments in the region will hit the $6.3 billion mark by 2012, rising at a CAGR of 38.6 percent from $1.2 billion in 2007.

The figure presents iSuppli's forecast for unit shipments and revenue for LCD TVs in Southeast Asia for the period of 2007 through 2012.

CRT TVs continue to dominate the market in Southeast Asia due to their lower prices. However, by 2011, LCD TVs will take a commanding lead in overall television sales as their prices decline. iSuppli defines the Southeast Asian market as the nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, The Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Macau.

"These economies appear to be weathering the impact of the economic slowdown better than other regions," said Riddhi Patel, principal analyst, television systems for iSuppli.

"Because of this, more consumers in the region now are able to afford to replace their CRT TVs with more expensive LCD TVs, particularly at the larger sizes. While these televisions are mostly being purchased by the affluent and the upper middle class, increased domestic production in the region, which should help lower prices, raise the profile of the product and boost adoption, will encourage more consumers to buy a new LCD-TV set."

The more mature markets, like Singapore and Macau, along with the emerging countries—Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar and Brunei—are not growing as fast as Vietnam, Thailand or Malaysia. However, as prices fall, interest is likely to increase in the more developed areas as well, Patel noted.

Rapid adoption
The Southeast Asian television market is outgrowing the global business, with unit shipments expected to rise at a CAGR of 6 percent during the period from 2008 to 2012. In contrast, worldwide shipments will increase by 5 percent and total Asia/Pacific shipments will increase by 3 percent during the same period.