China TV Makers Lack Right Stuff to Profit fom Sony Woes 索尼遭殃谁受益？

Time for one of YCBB’s periodic quick but hopefully insightful looks at a major event and its impact on China companies, in this case its TV makers following Sony’s (Tokyo: 6758) setback from Japan’s massive earthquake. Unfortunately for China company watchers, the picture isn’t very exciting for Chinese firms, which tend to cluster at the low end of the market versus the more premium end occupied by Sony. The biggest short-term beneficiaries will most likely be other Japanese names like Sharp (Tokyo: 6753) and Panasonic, and Korea’s Samsung (Seoul: 005930) and LG (Seoul: 066570) could also gain some share. Within Greater China realm, two companies that could make some small inroads are TCL (HKEx 1070; Shenzhen: 000100) and TPV (HKEx: 903), which have strong relationships with Thomson Electronics and Philips Electronics (Amsterdam: PHG), respectively. One other interesting company to watch could be Taiwan’s Amtran (Taipei: 2489), which has actually done a good job of penetrating the US with its tie-up supplying TVs to Vizio. Of course, all these Chinese guys are low-end players, but they’ll have to start moving up the food chain at some point or risk getting overtaken by other up-and-comers.

Bottom line: TCL and TPV, with their western ties, are best positioned to benefit from Sony’s earthquake woes, but don’t look for any major breakthroughs.

日本大地震对索尼<6758.T>造成重创，但中国电视厂商若想乘机抢占其市场份额，恐怕自身修行还欠些火候。因为中国电视机制造商倾向於在低端市场拼抢，而索尼传统上占据高端市场。短 期内最大的赢家可能是其他大牌日本电子厂商，例如夏普<6753.T>和松下，而韩国的三星<005930.KS>和 LG<066570.KS>也可能分得一杯羹。在大中华区内，有两家公司可能略有斩 获：TCL<1070.HK><000100.SZ>和香港冠捷科技<0903.HK>，两者分别与汤姆逊电子和飞 利浦电子<PHG.AS>有密切合作关系。另外一家值得关注的是台湾的瑞轩科技<2489.TW>。当然，上述大中华区厂商仍在低端徘徊，但早晚有一天，面临新生力量的竞争，他们会要向食物链上端发展。

一句话：大中华区可能从索尼震灾中获益的电视生产商不过TCL和香港冠捷，但别指望什麽重大突破。