Taiwanese LED Makers Will Hail Huge Growth Potential of The Domestic Market

With the Chinese government banning imports and sales of 100W-and-above incandescent lamps in the country starting on October 1, 2012, Taiwanese LED makers who have actively built footholds will hail huge growth potential of the domestic market for LED lightings.

To cut use of incandescent lamps and prompt energy-saving lightings to reduce consumption of electricity for general lighting nationwide, the Chinese government has restricted imports and sales of 100W-and-above incandescent lamps, and will further broaden the restrictions to 15W-and-above models beginning on October 1, 2016.

China's attempts to impose restrictions on use of incandescent lamps make sense, given the fact that such comparatively inefficient lightings consumed 12% of the total electricity used for general lighting in the country in 2010, when domestic sales and output totaled 1.07 billion and 3.85 billion units, respectively, according to official statistics. Chinese officials assessed that if all incandescent lamps used in the country are replaced by energy-saving lightings, about 48 billion kilowatts of electricity will be saved, representing a reduction of 48 million metric tons on carbon dioxide emission.

Eyeing considerable business chances brought by China's policy to accelerate replacement of energy-saving lightings for incandescent lamps, some Taiwanese LED makers have moved to deploy operations in the country since last year.

For instance, Expistar Corp., the largest epitaxial wafer maker in Taiwan by output, already joined hands with Lite-On Technology Corp., a Taiwanese LED packager, and a Chinese household appliance supplier, Konka Group, to set up a joint venture engaged in production of LED lightings in China in September 2011.

Coincidentally, Lite-On has built an integrated supply chain of LED lightings in Changzhou, Jiangsu, while Taiwan's biggest LED packager and tester, Everlight Electronics Co., Ltd., has also established new factories and expanded outlets to promote its LED lightings under own brand, Everlight, in the country.