SALES OF TELEVISION SETS EXPANDS IN SOUTHEAST ASIA IN 1H2011

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 8 (Bernama) -- The television market in Southeast Asia
expanded in the first six months of 2011, compared to the same period last year,
with consumers having spent over US$2.1 billion on 6.33 million units.

In a statement Monday, GFK Asia said Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam, contributed to an overall industry growth of
16 per cent and 11 per cent respectively in value and volume terms.

It also said the latest retail audit report reflects continuing
demand for LCD sets which achieved nearly 30 per cent more in value sales over
the first half of 2010, making it the key driver of the overall television
industry across Southeast Asia.

"The television industry is innovating and evolving constantly and always
presenting consumers with new upgrading options, be it the latest technology or
fresh new features," said Jasmine Lim, Regional Account Director for Consumer
Electronics at GFK Asia.

"We are generally seeing an upward growth trending across Southeast Asian
markets, particularly in Indonesia and Vietnam, where the value of the
television market registered healthy double digit growth in the first six months
of this year, when compared to the same period of 2010," she added.

Smart TV or television with web content access is one of the most recent TV
technologies, gaining acceptance in Southeast Asia.

"Smart TV has been increasing steadily in the first two quarters of the year
with unit sales in quarter two growing by 20 per cent over the previous quarter.

"Smart TV is relatively new to consumers in the region, and its future
success is directly dependant on the internet penetration rate, and internet
speed of each individual market," said Jasmine.