Bigger screens are part of the Japanese electronics giant Toshiba's strategy to battle with aggressive domestic players in China's flat panel TV set market.

Toshiba, which ranks No 1 among foreign flat screen brands in China, aims to compete by unveiling the largest LCD TV set in the market on Sunday.

The goal is to establish the company as a high-end TV maker, instead of slashing prices.

Kazuhiru Muto, marketing director of Dalian Toshiba Television Co Ltd, said his company will boost its presence in the sector from last year's 5 per cent to 20 per cent in 2006.

"Today, the transition from analog to digital TV sets has just started, we believe it is necessary to redefine TV manufacturing in a new era," said Muto.

Toshiba's lead in China's TV set market in the early 1990s spearheaded a wave of TV set production in 2000.

But aggressive attacks from domestic competitors and South Korean players Samsung Electronics and LG Electronics have been tough to battle.

Flat panel TV sets, including LCD and plasma TV sets, are attracting more buyers since last year, as China is promoting high-definition and digital TV broadcasting.

About 4 million Chinese households had access to digital TV programmes last year. The country also launched its first high-definition channel during 2005.

All the digitalized programmes require a digital TV set for optimal viewing quality.

As the price of flat panel TV set plummeted by more than 20 per cent last year, the demands in the market increased.

Almost 2 million flat panel TV sets were sold in China in 2005, more than tripling the number of 2004, according to research by the State Council Development and Research Centre.

"It is an unprecedented opportunity for TV makers," said Lu Renbo, deputy director of the market economy department with the centre.

Toshiba's Muto believes that the Chinese market is unique from other regions due to Chinese consumers' higher demand for large-screen products.

While customers in other developed markets prefer TV sets of about 20 inches, Chinese people are opting for products above 40 inches.

As a result, Toshiba will launch its giant 47-inch LCD TV set this weekend.

With the model, the company hopes to strengthen its image as a high-end TV maker and then break into middle- and small-sized products.

This year, the Japanese giant is also likely to introduce its next-generation flat panel TV set surface-conduction electron-emitter display (SED) TV, which is said to have clearer images, lower power consumption, and is a thinner size than traditional LCD and plasma TV sets.

Although price wars are going to intensify, as predicted by Lu, Muto said his firm will not follow the suit.

"From the point of marketing, we also considered cutting prices, but that can also lead to a fall of our brand value, so we want to win in the market with the value of the products, instead of prices," said Muto.

Source: China Daily