China is the leading producer of electronics in Asia according to a survey by the Japanese financial daily Nihon Keizai Shimbun released yesterday.
Sales of 16 products surveyed included digital cameras, DVD players, notebook and desktop computers and mobile phones.
Contributions of mainly Asian countries to the global manufacturing volume of electronic products in 2002 were estimated by the newspaper using its own data in addition to that from industry groups and economic think tanks.
DVD players made in China now account for more than 50 percent of global production. According to the newspaper's survey results, China accounted for 54.1 percent of global production of DVD players, followed by Malaysia at 15 percent, Japan at 7.7 percent, and South Korea at 7 percent.
Major manufacturers from around the world are outsourcing production to electronics manufacturing services (EMS) companies. With price competition intensifying globally, EMS firms accelerated moves to shift production to China, where labour costs are low among Asia economies.
China is also boosting output as an export hub due to its improvements in production techno attracted by the huge Chinese market, boasting 1.3 billion consumers.
According to a survey by the Japan External Trade Organization, more than 70 per cent of Japanese firms cited tapping demand in the domestic market as the reason for drawing up plans to invest in China over the next three years.
NEC Crop will start operating an LCD plant with a local Chinese firm in 2004.
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