MORE ASIANS SPLURGING ON LATEST IN HOME TECHNOLOGY

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 6 (Bernama) -- Asian consumers have started to loosen
their purse strings and are more willing to splurge on big ticket items in home
technology, according to GfK Asia Pte Ltd findings.

In a statement here Monday, GfK said the findings reflected an annual 17 per
cent growth in value of the consumer electronics industry in Asia when compared
with the same period in the previous year.

"A large proportion of the consumers spent in consumer electronics -- around
four-fifths (80 per cent) -- goes to TV sets while the rest of the pie is
occupied by portable media player, digital video disc player/recorder, audio
home system and camcorder," it said.

GfK regional account director, Jasmine Lim, said the overall 17 per cent
growth in the consumer electronics category were mostly driven by the TV
category, particularly liquid-crystal display (LCD) TV segment.

"The findings showed that share of LCD TVs in the consumer electronics
industry, value-wise, grew by 10 per cent to 60 per cent. In the past 12 months,
consumers in the region spent over US$5.3 billion (US$1=RM3.08) on LCD TV," she
said.

Lim said rising demand for flat panel TV with light-emitting diode
backlight, full high-definition and larger screen sizes has contributed to the
value growth in the TV segment across the region.

The GfK Retail Panel is a regular survey monitoring sales of specific
products and product categories.

-- BERNAMA