SHENZHEN, China, Nov. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Cogo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:COGO), a leading platform services provider for the technology and industrial sectors in China, today announced that it expects to benefit from China's plan to migrate to High Definition Television ("HD") over the next three years. Cogo has already secured design wins to provide HD solutions to three top-tier set-top box ("STB") manufacturers with scheduled shipments beginning in 2010. Additionally, Cogo is targeting an additional 20 STB vendors with its solution next year. At the end of September 2009, the Chinese government announced that nine channels would begin offering HD transmissions. These HDTV channels comprise CCTV-1 and 8 other channels across China's tier-one cities, including Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen. Chinese consumers will need an HD set-top box to access HDTV, which Cogo believes together with the ongoing China stimulus package, will drive a significant STB replacement cycle. Various industry sources have estimated that total HD STB sales will reach 30-50 million subscribers over the next three years, from a very limited number today. Currently, Beijing Gehua, Shanghai Cable, and Shenzhen CATV are key cable operators aggressively rolling out HDTV; however, over 100 cable operators will ultimately deliver HDTV in China over the next few years. The cable TV market in China is still relatively immature, with only 400 million television viewers as of June 2008 out of a population of 1.3 billion. Total cable subscriptions numbered 164 million as of June 2009 and only about 54 million of those were digital. Cogo believes that cable service upgrades and increased penetration in China will continue to provide significant opportunities for STB growth in China. Cogo expects that its digital media business, which comprises 60% of the Company's business, will show accelerated growth in 2010 from 2009, as the Company benefits from a variety of positive revenue streams, including the HD roll-out, and increased sales of mobile Internet devices and Smartphones. China's consumer confidence index hit an all-time high since mid-2007(1), and in the years ahead, consumer spending is expected to rise significantly.(2) According to Financial Times, "retail sales have increased 16.5 per cent in the first three quarters of 2009 ... at least two percentage points faster than last year before the crisis.(3)" The Company reiterates its belief that the worst of China's economic situation is past and the Company will significantly accelerate its overall revenue in 2010 over 2009. About Cogo Group, Inc.: Cogo Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:COGO) is a leading provider of customized module and subsystem design solutions in China. The Company believes it acts as a proxy to China's technology industry as it works with virtually all the major ODMs and OEMs in China. Cogo leverages these relationships and combines their IP to create designs that Cogo then sells to electronic manufacturers. These designs allow manufacturers to reduce their time to market for new products and ultimately increase sales. Cogo focuses on the telecommunications equipment, digital media and industrial applications end-markets for their customized design modules while also offering business and engineering services to their large telecommunications equipment vendor customers. Over the last twelve years, Cogo has grown its customer list to include nearly 1,400 manufacturers across the telecommunications equipment, digital media and industrial applications markets, covering both multinational Chinese subsidiaries and Chinese domestic companies. For further information: Investor Relations http://www.comtech.com.cn/investorinfo.html Safe Harbor Statement: This press release includes certain statements that are not descriptions of historical facts, but are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. These forward-looking statements may include statements about our proposed discussions related to our business or growth strategy such as growth in digital media businesses, which are subject to change. Such information is based upon expectations of our management that were reasonable when made, but may prove to be incorrect. All such assumptions are inherently subject to uncertainties and contingencies beyond our control and upon assumptions with respect to future business decisions, which are subject to change. For further descriptions of other risks and uncertainties, see our most recent Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 10-K, and our subsequent SEC filings, including our most recent Forms S-1 and/or S-3. Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SEC's electronic data gathering analysis retrieval system (EDGAR) at http://www.sec.gov/. (1) 3rd Quarter, 2009, Global Consumer Confidence, Concerns and Spending, a global Nielson consumer report, November 2009 (2) China's consumer market: What next? A Deloitte Research Study, 2009 (3) China's booming consumer demand, by Geoff Dyer, Financial Times, October 23, 2009 DATASOURCE: Cogo Group, Inc. CONTACT: Cogo Group, Inc. Investor Relations, H.K., +852 2730 1518, U.S., +1-917-519-6994, Fax, +86 755 2674 3522, , Web Site: http://www.comtech.com.cn/

Copyright