Special Report: Global Financial Crisis

    BEIJING, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Major liquid crystal displays (LCD) TV producers, except Samsung Electronics, failed to reach their sales goals in 2008, according to the latest statistics released by DisplaySearch, a research and consulting firm which specializes in display industry.

    Samsung Electronics, South Korea's leading electrical appliance manufacturer, sold 20.98 million LCD TVs last year, taking up 19.9 percent of the global market share in terms of sales volume, said a report on the 2008 LCD TV market from DisplaySearch Saturday.

    Sony Corp., Japan's manufacturer of consumer electronics, gained the second place by taking up 14 percent of market share.

    The company adjusted its annual sales goal of LCD TV from 17 million to 16 million last October, due to the global economic slowdown. However, Sony still failed to reach the goal by selling only 14.75 million LCD TVs in 2008, said the report.

    LG Electronics, Sharp and Philips followed Samsung and Sony as the rest of the top five companies in LCD TV sales by selling 10.74 million, 9.58 million, and 8.11 million LCD TVs, respectively, said the report.