Telecom driving growth in Southeast Asia's technical consumer goods market: GfK

GfK’s latest reports are based on a survey conducted in Southeast Asian markets including Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia from October to December 2012.

Goods covered in the reports come from seven sectors: consumer electronics; small domestic appliances; major domestic appliances; digital cameras; IT; office equipment & consumables; and telecommunications.

The market for TCG in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand continued to expand in the fourth quarter of 2012, making those countries the three fastest growing markets in the region, with robust growth of 15, 15 and 12 per cent, respectively for the full year.

“Indonesia and Malaysia continue to reign as the top growth engines in the Southeast Asia region, driven by strong adoption trend of the latest gadgets across both countries,” said Stanley Kee, managing director for GfK in Southeast Asia.

Indonesia emerged as the country with the highest individual growth, scoaring the highest numbers for consumer electronics, major domestic appliances and IT in 2012.

The telecommunications sector continues to be the top driver of growth in Singapore (45 per cent), Malaysia (32 per cent) and Thailand (27 per cent). High demand for tablets has also propelled the IT sector to achieve good results in countries like Indonesia (31 per cent), Thailand (13 per cent) and Malaysia (11 per cent).

“In 2013, we predict the telecommunications and IT sectors to continue to be key contributors to the good performance of the total technical consumer goods market, as manufacturers keep coming out with new enhancements to the popular smart gadgets that they know consumers love so much,” said Kee. “The process of upgrading and the latest innovations in the TV segment such as OLED and 4G TV will also help stimulate matured TV markets to greater heights.”