Sales of flat screen TVs in China surged 71 percent year-on-year to 2.98 million sets in the first quarter, a report by Beijing-based CCID Consulting said.

"The surge owes much to the upcoming 2008 Olympics as consumers brought forward their purchase plans and favored bigger sets," CCID senior analyst Tian Xiaona told Xinhua.

According to Tian, sales of 32-inch liquid crystal flat screen TVs accounted for just under 35 percent of the total, while 40-inch and above sets accounted for more than 35 percent.

Sales of flat screen TVs by value rose 60.6 percent year-on-year to 24.64 billion yuan (about 3.52 billion U.S. dollars), CCID said.

Samsung ranked first in the liquid crystal field by volume, followed by Hisense and Skyworth.

Flat screen TV sales will total 9.26 million sets in 2008, 11.57 million in 2009 and 15.71 million in 2010, CCID predicted.

(Xinhua News Agency May 9, 2008)