Piyasit Thongyuak, senior sales manager of LG Electronics (Thailand), said yesterday that the company would spend about US$6 million (Bt233 million) this year on marketing campaigns for the products, all of which will feature MP3 and other multimedia functions.

"LG mobile phones will capitalise on their unique designs to capture the mar-ket and differentiate them from other brands," Piyasit said.

He added that LG would also introduce a mobile phone model featuring a 5-megapixel digital camera in May.

LG yesterday launched the M6100 music and camera phone to attract affluent teenagers. The Bt12,900 phone is shaped like an MP3 player and includes a special chip to enhance its multimedia functions.

LG plans to spend about Bt20 million marketing the M6100.

MJ Kim, LG's mobile-phone product manager, said that the company was aiming for market share in Thailand of between 5 and 10 per cent this year, up from the current 3 per cent.

He said that LG would develop closer ties with handset distributors as part of its plan to boost market share.

Piyasit added that LG planned start selling its phones upcountry this year after focusing on the Bangkok area in 2005.

The company plans to increase to 100 the number of LG brand shops it runs from only five today.

Sirivish Toomgum

The Nation