To take advantage of China's potentially massive market for digital television sets, which has been bolstered by the nation's burgeoning digital television industry, Taiwanese companies should aggressively promote their wares with an eye on future business expansion, industry insiders said at a seminar on digital television industry in Taipei yesterday.
"China is determined to develop its digital television industry by 2008, when Beijing is scheduled to host the Olympic Games," said Allen Cheng (
Taiwanese digital television makers should seize the opportunity to take advantage of the market, either under their own brand or by means of contract manufacturing to pave the way for future business expansion, Cheng said.
China started trial broadcasts of digital television programs in 2002 in several first-tier cities like Shanghai and Beijing. The number of digital TV subscribers stood at 168,000 families last year, an increase of 101,000 families compared with 2002, according to figures provided by the center.
The figure is expected to jump to 1.22 million households this year and rise to 30 million families by the time the Olympic Games are held, according to the center's projections.
Increased availability of digital TV content should push forward China's market demands for digital television sets, including rear projection TV, liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV and plasma-display panel (PDP) TV, which are well suited to the high quality of digital broadcasts, Cheng said.
Market demand for digital television sets are expected to reach 6.49 million units this year, which is worth 31.44 billion yuan (US$3.8 million), up from 3.17 million units and 16.18 billion yuan last year, according to the center.
These figures could hit 19.8 million units and 77.42 billion yuan in 2008, according to the center.
Taiwanese digital TV makers have an edge over international competitors, since local producers have the advantage of controlling key components like LCD panel factories, strong information technology capabilities and an original-equipment-manufacturing (OEM) model, as well as sharing a similar cultural background with China, said Peter Chen (
Earlier this month Teco Electric and Machinery Co (東元電機) announced that it was in discussions with Konka Group Co Ltd (康佳) to supply flat-panel televisions to China's third-largest consumer electronics vendor.
Their collaboration prompted an alliance between TCL Corp, Konka's larger Chinese rival, and Sampo Corp (
However, Taiwanese companies may find it difficult to sell digital TVs bearing their own names, due to weaker branding than their international rivals, as well as a lack of after-sales service outlets and management experience of local sales channels, Chen said.
To promote own-brand business, local companies will have to establish manufacturing bases in China to obtain domestic selling licenses and bypass the tariff burden, Chen said.
Stephen Garrett, a 27-year-old graduate student, always thought he would study in China, but first the country’s restrictive COVID-19 policies made it nearly impossible and now he has other concerns. The cost is one deterrent, but Garrett is more worried about restrictions on academic freedom and the personal risk of being stranded in China. He is not alone. Only about 700 American students are studying at Chinese universities, down from a peak of nearly 25,000 a decade ago, while there are nearly 300,000 Chinese students at US schools. Some young Americans are discouraged from investing their time in China by what they see
MAJOR DROP: CEO Tim Cook, who is visiting Hanoi, pledged the firm was committed to Vietnam after its smartphone shipments declined 9.6% annually in the first quarter Apple Inc yesterday said it would increase spending on suppliers in Vietnam, a key production hub, as CEO Tim Cook arrived in the country for a two-day visit. The iPhone maker announced the news in a statement on its Web site, but gave no details of how much it would spend or where the money would go. Cook is expected to meet programmers, content creators and students during his visit, online newspaper VnExpress reported. The visit comes as US President Joe Biden’s administration seeks to ramp up Vietnam’s role in the global tech supply chain to reduce the US’ dependence on China. Images on
New apartments in Taiwan’s major cities are getting smaller, while old apartments are increasingly occupied by older people, many of whom live alone, government data showed. The phenomenon has to do with sharpening unaffordable property prices and an aging population, property brokers said. Apartments with one bedroom that are two years old or older have gained a noticeable presence in the nation’s six special municipalities as well as Hsinchu county and city in the past five years, Evertrust Rehouse Co (永慶房產集團) found, citing data from the government’s real-price transaction platform. In Taipei, apartments with one bedroom accounted for 19 percent of deals last
US CONSCULTANT: The US Department of Commerce’s Ursula Burns is a rarely seen US government consultant to be put forward to sit on the board, nominated as an independent director Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the world’s largest contract chipmaker, yesterday nominated 10 candidates for its new board of directors, including Ursula Burns from the US Department of Commerce. It is rare that TSMC has nominated a US government consultant to sit on its board. Burns was nominated as one of seven independent directors. She is vice chair of the department’s Advisory Council on Supply Chain Competitiveness. Burns is to stand for election at TSMC’s annual shareholders’ meeting on June 4 along with the rest of the candidates. TSMC chairman Mark Liu (劉德音) was not on the list after in December last