Which country is the top ASEAN export destination for our country's LED lighting products?
With the launch of the "Eleventh Malaysia Plan," large-scale infrastructure projects have been initiated, along with Malaysia's new rural renovation project. The growth rate of Malaysia's overall building and construction market will further accelerate, leading to a sharp increase in demand for lighting technology and products.
LED lamps are more energy-efficient than traditional lamps. The Malaysian government uses LED lighting in all government administrative buildings, achieving an annual energy-saving effect of 50%. At the same time, to further promote the LED lighting product plan, the Malaysian government has, since 2014, gradually prohibited or phased out the use of incandescent bulbs or traditional lighting fixtures in building or real estate projects. Starting May 3, 2015, all household lighting equipment sold in the Malaysian market must comply with MEPS minimum energy efficiency standards; the Malaysian government has already prohibited the manufacture, sale, and import of 100W incandescent bulbs. Now, all new development projects must use LED lighting, and the huge future demand for LED is evident. In addition, the uses of LED products are not limited to traditional home appliance lighting functions but have also been widely applied in the automotive industry, electronic products, mobile phones, and laptop screens, and even street lights and tunnel lights have begun to use LED lighting, fully demonstrating its excellent market prospects and development potential.
At the same time, the Malaysian government has launched an LED lighting retrofit project, planning to completely phase out traditional lighting products by 2018, taking an important step for Malaysia's transition into an energy-saving and environmentally friendly era. State governments such as Selangor have even issued decrees mandating the use of LED products as light sources in newly completed buildings. The Malaysian government expects that all street lights in the country will be replaced with LED light sources by 2020, while currently only about 5% of Malaysian street lights actually use LED products, and the huge market demand is gradually emerging.
One-third of lighting products imported by ASEAN come from China. In 2014, China's year-on-year export growth to the ASEAN LED lighting market reached 359.28%, far higher than the overall 68.82% export growth rate of China's LED lighting products.
Malaysia is China's largest export destination for LED lighting products in ASEAN, with growth reaching 449.97% in 2014, far above the ASEAN average. In 2015, China's total exports of LED lighting products to Malaysia amounted to USD 140 million, up 18.6% year-on-year from 2014.
Malaysia is the 5th largest export destination for Chinese LED lighting products, following the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Japan. In 2015, China exported 26.8 million LED lighting units to Malaysia, an increase of approximately 64.5% over the same period in 2014, with some brands experiencing growth rates exceeding 1000%.
Aside from certain lighting fixtures manufactured by local electrical brands, Malaysia's lighting industry relies mainly on imports, with over 40% dependence on Chinese products. The Malaysian market has attracted a large number of Chinese companies. In 2015, there were 1,321 Chinese enterprises exporting LED lighting products to Malaysia, a year-on-year increase of 3% from 2014, with newly entering companies mainly being trading firms. In 2015, China exported 7,781 orders to Malaysia, with the highest single order amounting to USD 708,000 and an average order value of USD 17,000.
Chinese LED lighting companies should seize the development opportunities in Malaysia, enter the Malaysian market, and accelerate their growth.