Chinese Firm To Launch Colour Tvsets

Chinese electronic major Konka has decided to launch colour television sets in the country, taking on the Japanese in the market.

Konka will launch its 44 cm and 37 cm colour TVs in the country within the next three months and is looking for distributors-cum-assemblers who will sell their products here.

The Chinese television company expects to make a dent in the market primarily by pricing its products much lower than its competitors. Konka, which sells its 37 cm TV in China for $115 and 44 cm for $148, hopes to sell its products at much cheaper prices than what is available in the Indian market even after paying the relevant duties and taxes.

 

Konka is a joint venture between Kongwah International Co of Hong Kong and Overseas Chinese Economical Development Company of Shenzen province in China. It manufactures 2 million TV sets, high fidelity systems and telecom products annually. Nearly 30 per cent of its production is exported to Europe and the US, making it one of the top ten foreign exchange earning joint ventures in China.

The company also wants to launch CD players and telephone instruments for which it is scouting for dealers.

Konka claims it will be able to sell its 14 TV at around $200. However colour TV manufacturers point out that given the existing duty structure the Chinese companys claims to launch the lowest priced TVs in the country will not hold ground though the price for the two versions in China is $148 and $115 respectively.

Over and above a 60 per cent import duty there is an excise duty component of Rs 2000 and a 10 per cent sales tax. Taking this into account the Konka 37 cm TV, for example, will have a price of around Rs 9000. Most of the TVs in that category have a similar price, industry sources point out.

The Chinese company is however expected to reap major gains if the import duty on colour TVs is brought down further as part of the budget proposals this year or if the company introduces TVs below the 37 cm category which has recently been placed under open general license (OGL).