According  to  IDC’s Asia/Pacific  Quarterly PC Monitor Tracker report, the PC monitor market in Asia/Pacific excluding Japan (APEJ) region totaled 28.1 million units in 1H 2008,  representing  an  increase  of 7.2% over 1H 2007, but a 1.1% decline over  2H  2007.

This was in line with IDC’s initial forecast, registering a 0.9%  variance.  All countries posted a sequential decline or a flat growth over  2H  2007,  except  Indonesia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.  Total  CRT  sales  experienced  a 31.2% decline, while total LCD sales increased by a slight 5.1% over 2H 2007.

“Inflation is impacting many countries in the APEJ region in 2Q 2008, which reduces  consumer  purchasing  power, as well as commercial spending in the short  term,”  said  Yoong  Siat-Siah, Senior Analyst of IDC’s Asia/Pacific Personal  Systems  Research.  “Political  issues  in several countries also weakened  regional  demand.  IDC  believes the total PC monitor market will remain  muted  in 2H 2008, with a mild 4.4% growth over 1H 2008, and a 3.2% growth year-on-year.”


Vendor Rankings


      The  top  6 PC monitor vendor rankings changed slightly over 2H 2007,
      with  AOC coming in strongly in third, and Dell dropping off from the
      chart.  These  top  6  vendors  captured  just over 60% of overall PC
      monitor  sales  in  the  APEJ  region in 1H 2008, which is a marginal
      increase  from  59.9%  in  2H  2007. These were Samsung, Lenovo, AOC,
      Hewlett-Packard, LG Electronics, and Acer respectively.


      Of  the  top 6 vendors, AOC and Acer posted the strongest growth over
      2H  2007.  AOC  continued to strengthen its presence with competitive
      product  pricing,  as well as good channel coverage. AOC’s ability to
      supply  CRTs,  while  many  vendors are reducing availability in some
      countries,  also  helped its performance. Meanwhile, Acer turned in a
      strong performance in the ASEAN region.


Product Migration


      As  of  1H  2008, 19”W has become the mainstream LCD size in the APEJ
      region.  The  acceptance of wide-screen LCDs in the commercial market
      has  increased  significantly  in the last 6 months. As a result, the
      wide-screen  LCD  market  has  shown  a  32.1%  growth  over 2H 2007,
      partially due to the 15”W, 16”W and 17”W sizes.


      PC  and  standalone  monitor  vendors alike are starting to introduce
      smaller  LCDs from this year as a true CRT alternative, especially in
      emerging  countries.  In  markets  where  price is the main factor in
      buying  decisions, such as countries in ASEAN, the PRC and India, LCD
      monitors  have not been able to penetrate the stronghold of CRTs till
      now.  Today,  15”W  and  16”W  LCDs are available at comparable price
      points to CRTs, which are being phased out and facing price rigidity.

“Prices are expected to continue on their downward spiral in 3Q 2008, which might  help  buoy the otherwise soft market,” said Anjali Joseph, Associate Analyst  of  IDC’s  Asia/Pacific Personal Systems Research. “Manufacturers’ decisions to restrain production in the face of falling demand will however help stabilize the prices towards the end of the year.”

Country Outlook

Despite  revising  its forecast downwards, IDC still anticipates a positive year-on-year   growth   for  the  APEJ  monitor  market  in  2008,  largely contributed  by  the  PRC,  India,  Indonesia,  New Zealand (PC replacement cycles), Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam.

According  to  IDC’s  latest  5-year  forecast,  17”W is expected to be the mainstream  size  for India, Indonesia, Philippines, and Vietnam till 2012, while  19”W  will  be the mainstream size for Hong Kong, Malaysia, the PRC, Singapore,  Taiwan  and  Thailand.  For  Australia, Korea, and New Zealand, strong  uptake  of  22”W will allow this size to become the most popular by 2010.

“The  uncertain  economic  climate  creates  havoc  in the panel producer’s expansion  plans,  which results in monitor assemblers bearing the brunt of panel price fluctuations on one end, and continued pricing pressures on the other,”  said  Reuben  Tan,  Senior  Manager of IDC’s Asia/Pacific Personal Systems.  “The  light  at  the  end of the tunnel for this matured industry could be varied feature sets and vendor differentiation; HDMI, monitor-TVs, and  16:9  products,  as  well  as  innovative channel and joint promotions through  vendor  partnerships,  monitor-notebook  vendor  and monitor-telco collaborations.”

Figure 1. APEJ PC Monitor Sales from 2007 to 2012 (in Units)

Figure 1