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Asustek moves into LCD TV market

A man takes a good look at Asustek Computer Inc's first liquid-crystal display (LCD) television during the product launch yesterday. PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES

Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), the world's biggest computer motherboard maker, yesterday launched its first liquid-crystal-display (LCD) television targeted for the home market as part of its efforts to build a bigger presence in the consumer electronics arena.

The slim-screen TVs mark the second step of Asustek's diversification into the consumer electronics market after it introduced its first own-brand mobile phone about two years ago.

"It's not just about IT [information technology]. All kinds of technologies are converging," Asustek chairman Johnny Shih (施崇棠) told reporters on the sidelines of the launch.

Shih said "the trend toward the digital home is very obvious ? LCD TVs are one of the most important parts of building a digital home," Shih said.

Half of Asustek's sales come from computer motherboards, the company has a 35-percent share of the global market, and a big chunk comes from branded notebook computers and broadband products.

The company said consumer electronics will account for a very small part of total sales, which analysts said would be between NT$350 billion (US$10.5 billion) and NT$380 billion.

But, the consumer electronics business will be a fast-growing area for Asustek in the future, Shih said.

After gaining a foothold in the domestic mobile phone business market, Asustek is now eyeing a share of the thin-screen LCD TV market.

According to market researcher GFK's statistics, Asustek was ranked No.6 in the top 10 of Taiwan's best selling handset brands for October, outpacing BenQ Corp (明基) by a small margin and just behind Inventec Appliances Corp (英華達).

Asustek yesterday introduced its first branded LCD TV 32-inch LCD TV priced at NT$62,800, making them slightly more expensive than Sony Corp's new Bravia series, with prices starting at NT$59,900.

Asustek aims to sell 800 sets a month, said Benson Lin (林宗樑), general manager of Asustek's Asia-Pacific sales and marketing division.

In the future, Lin said that the company would introduce 37-inch models, as bigger sizes are predicted to overtake the mainstream 32-inch sets next year, and they also plan to roll out 42-inch, or bigger, models.

Taiwanese people purchase around 250,000 LCD TVs each year, which accounts for 25 percent of annual TV sales of one million, according to the previous estimates from BenQ.

Lin said the company planned to sell the sleek TVs and own-brand mobile phones overseas in other countries around Southeast Asia.

Asustek shares rose 0.1 percent to NT$96.1 on the Taiwan Stock Exchange yesterday.
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