The Hindu Business Line : TPV Tech to enter Indian market

TPV Technology Ltd, a $5 billion company that manufactures computer monitors and supplies to several PC manufacturers worldwide and in India, will enter the consumer market for monitors directly in India this month with its AOC brand of monitors, according to Mr Saurabh Grover, Manager, Sales and Marketing, TPV's branch office in India. The company is based in Taiwan and Singapore, and has manufacturing facilities in a number of countries including China.

The company sells about 12 lakh monitors a year to PC manufacturers in India. The overall market stands at 48 lakh PCs, of which branded PCs make up 60 per cent and the assembled PCs have a 40 per cent share.

Growing PC penetration

Because of the decreasing prices of branded computers, the share of the assembled computers is coming down every year, and the company expects it to stand at 32 per cent next year. Asked why the company is foraying into a dwindling market, he said that the PC penetration in India is growing at 30 per cent a year, so even an 8 per cent fall in the assembled computers market signifies no actual reduction in number of units sold.

Import market

The company is also expecting a reduction in tax on imports of monitors. Currently, the import market in this segment has been boosted by the reduction of customs duty to zero. The tax stands at 16 per cent. Mr Grover expects this to come down to anywhere between eight per cent and 12 per cent.

The company has awarded the distribution rights to Vision Enterprises, a Delhi-based distribution company.

Initial studies

He said that initial studies have shown that the company is likely to sell about 1.2 lakh monitors in the channel market this year, which would constitute about 6 per cent of the market.

The products are priced at Rs 9,000 for a 15-inch monitor, Rs 11,000 for a 17-inch, Rs 16,000 for a 19-inch and Rs 23,000 for a 20.1-inch in the LCD range. The CRT models are priced at Rs 4,000 for a 15-inch, Rs 5,000 for a 17-inch and Rs 7,000 for a 19-inch.