That would be quite the turnaround for the company, which last year grew 15 per cent while the market grew 17 per cent.

Karun Ruamsuke, senior manager of Thai Samsung, said that the company's newly launched products combined with its strong brand name would drive the growth. It will also be riding the IT trend.

"We predict that the IT market will grow considerably higher as these products, including mobile phones, are now becoming commodities," said Karun.

He said there was not enough premium products in the market to meet demand.

The company launched what it touted as the world's smallest laser printer yesterday.

"We are skilled in the semiconductor sector so we have positioned ourselves as the leader of small products," Karun said.

The company has targeted 200 per cent growth in sales for its laser printer products this year. To date this year, its sales have outpaced last year's by 215 per cent.

"We penetrated this market a few years ago so it's not surprising to see our rapid growth," said Karun.

There were 120,000 printers sold last year.

 Thai Samsung has an 18 per cent share of the market, behind only HP Thailand, which has a 52-per-cent share, according to Karun.

IT products account for 50 per cent of the company's revenue, printers 25 per cent, and hard-disk drives 25 per cent.

Chalida Ekvitthayavechnukul

The Nation