CES-UPDATE 2-LG aims to boost TV sales to take on Japan rivals

(Adds analyst comments)

By Rhee So-eui

SEOUL, Jan 9 (Reuters) - LG Electronics Inc (066570.KS) said it aimed to raise its LCD TV sales by 50 percent this year, in what analysts say is an ambitious plan to take on Japanese rivals in the unstable flat-screen TV market.

With Japanese electronics makers hit by weak consumer demand and a stronger yen JPW=, Korean firms are seen better positioned to wrestle market share, selling products cheaply helped by a soft Korean won KRW= but at the cost of their profit margin.

LG, ranked No. 3 in the liquid crystal display (LCD) TV market in January-September last year, aims to sell 18 million sets this year to boost its LCD TV market share to 15 percent from 10.5 percent in 2008, said Simon Kang, chief executive of LG's home entertainment division.

LG competes with bigger LCD brands Samsung Electronics Co Ltd (005930.KS) and Sony Corp (6758.T).

Samsung, the world's top LCD TV maker, said on Thursday it was targeting a 10 percent growth in LCD TV sales to 22 million, Yonhap News reported.

Analysts were sceptical of LG's targets.

"LG's target is unrealistic under current market conditions. U.S. consumers are buying digital signal converters (for their analogue televisions) instead of new TVs, even with huge discounts," Park Sang-hyun, an analyst at HI Investment & Securities.