Boston, MA -- (SBWIRE) -- 10/04/2013 -- BMI expects the Thai consumer electronics market will grow by around 12% in 2013, boosted by factors such as 3G mobile rollout and digital TV migration. Digital TV licences, due to be awarded in October 2013, will boost TV set purchases, as households upgrade to digital. Meanwhile, a substantial house building programme will also fuel demand, with around 100,000 new homes to be built in Bangkok and its surrounding provinces alone. Spending growth was buoyant in 2012, with PC sales making a strong recovery and strong demand for tablets and smartphones. In 2013, consumer electronics spending is expected to grow even as high fuel costs and uncertainties over employment dampen consumer spending. In our view, the main driver will be product innovation such as LED and 3D TV sets, tablets and smartphones.

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Headline Expenditure Projections

Computer Hardware Sales: US$4.5bn in 2012 to US$4.8bn in 2013; +7% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms unchanged but sales of tablets are expected to constrain sales of traditional notebooks and desktops.

AV Sales: US$2.4bn in 2012 to US$2.7bn in 2013; +13% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms downwardly revised, but long-delayed Thailand's digital broadcasting migration expected to provide a boost to demand for flat-panel TV sets, as a digital broadcasting trial is launched in Bangkok.

Handset Sales: US$1.5bn in 2012 to US$1.9bn in 2013; +20% in US dollar terms. Forecast in US dollar terms unchanged with the greatest opportunity for vendors to come from strong growth in smartphone sales.

Risk/Reward Rating: Thailand's score was 48.4 out of 100.0, taking Thailand to ninth place in our latest Asia Pacific RRR table.

Key Trends & Developments

BMI has included tablets in its Thai PC market forecast, as they were are expected to be a major growth driver for PC device sales in 2013, accounting for above 40% of sales. BMI's forecast does not include the 800,000 tablets the government plans to distribute to schools, and the ultimate aspiration is one tablet for every schoolchild. As sales of tablets grow, this will constrain shipments of desktops, but notebook sales should continue to grow. With falling prices and growing penetration of flat-screen TV sets, vendors will look to product innovation such as 3D TV sets and smart TV sets to drive growth.

Sales of flat-panel TV sets will also be driven by Thailand's migration towards terrestrial digital broadcasting, even if the timetable changed several times. In August 2013, the Thai government maintained that the country's digital TV auction would happen as scheduled in October 2013. Once digital broadcasts commence - supposedly on December 5, 2013 - the government predicts that at least 60% of Thais will be able to watch at least 30 digital channels.

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