he PV market in Southeast Asia is forecast to diversify significantly in the future.

Shanghai, 1 November 2012. Total cumulative photovoltaic (PV) installations in Southeast Asia are forecast to reach almost 5GW by 2016, according to the latest report from IMS Research (recently acquired by IHS Inc. (NYSE: IHS)). The report, which analyses the PV markets in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore and Philippines, reveals that the region will grow at 50 percent per year on average over the next five years, providing an attractive market for ailing suppliers in Europe. Installations have previously been dominated by Thailand, however, other regions are also forecast to quickly and account for significant share of the market.

The new report, The PV Market in South East Asia found that although the region accounted for less than one percent of global installations in 2011, IMS Research forecasts that its share will increase by more than four times by 2016. Annual Installations are forecast to grow by 50 percent a year on average for the next five years and exceed 1GW by 2015.

In recent years, Thailand has accounted for the majority of installations in the region and will be the fifth largest market in Asia in 2012 (after China, Japan, India and Australia). Rapid growth in Thailand has been driven by the attractive ‘adder' incentive scheme which has resulted in several large ground-mount systems being completed. However, a new incentive scheme to promote smaller roof-top systems is expected in 2013. As a result, the market share of utility-scale systems in Thailand is forecast to fall by 25 percent by 2016.

The PV market in Southeast Asia is forecast to diversify significantly in the future. "Although the market is currently dominated by Thailand, a number of countries within the South East Asia region have huge potential for PV and offer significant opportunities to suppliers, and these will account for a growing share of the market in the future," commented Jessica Jin, PV market analyst at IMS Research. "Given its substantial and quickly growing need for electricity, the small amount of the population that currently have access to electricity, and its reliance on diesel generators on its thousands of islands, PV is an highly attractive solution for providing distributed electricity sources in Indonesia." The report predicts that Indonesia will be the fastest growing market in the region installing close to 1GW of PV over the next four years, with off-grid systems set to account for a significant share of this.

The report also found that although the region is home to some large manufacturing facilities for Western PV cell and module manufacturers, these manufacturers do not hold a significant market share, and five of the largest PV module suppliers to the region were found to be Chinese or Japanese manufacturers. In contrast, the majority of the largest system integrators were headquartered locally.

Researched by IMS Research's analyst team located in Asia, The PV Market in South East Asia was published on 29th October and contains detailed analysis and forecast for installations and the PV module and inverter supply chain in the region.

About IHS Inc. (www.ihs.com)

IHS (NYSE: IHS) is the leading source of information, insight and analytics in critical areas that shape today's business landscape. Businesses and governments in more than 165 countries around the globe rely on the comprehensive content, expert independent analysis and flexible delivery methods of IHS to make high-impact decisions and develop strategies with speed and confidence. IHS has been in business since 1959 and became a publicly traded company on the New York Stock Exchange in 2005. Headquartered in Englewood, Colorado, USA, IHS is committed to long-term, sustainable growth and employs more than 6,000 people in more than 30 countries around the world.

About IMS Research (www.imsresearch.com)

IMS Research, recently acquired by IHS (NYSE: IHS), is a leading supplier of market research and consultancy to over 2500 clients worldwide, including most of the world's largest technology companies. Established in the UK in 1989, IMS Research now has dedicated analyst teams focused on the factory automation, automotive, communications, computer, consumer, display, financial & ID, LED & lighting, medical, power & energy, solar PV, smart grid and security markets. Currently publishing over 350 different syndicated report titles each year, these in-depth publications are used by major electronics and industrial companies to assess market trends, solve marketing problems, and improve the efficiency of their businesses.