BEIJING -- China's government will subsidize appliance purchases by citizens in its poorer regions as part of a massive program aimed at recharging the domestic consumer electronics industry.

Under the new program, called Delivering Appliances to the Countryside, farmers will be given 13% subsidies toward the purchase of new refrigerators, washers, televisions and cellphones. The program set a goal of 480 million units sold under the program over the next four years.

China's National Bureau of Statistics estimates penetration rates of 94 color TVs, 26 refrigerators and 46 washing machines per every 100 rural households, well behind the marks of 138 color TVs, 95 refrigerators and 97 washing machines for every 100 urban households, according to published reports.

HONG KONG -- Wong Kong King (WKK) Technology has signed a license agreement to manufacture and sell Nihon Superior's patented lead-free alloy in China.

WKK said in a press release it will dedicate a factory in Dongguan, China, to manufacturing SN100C. The site is scheduled to be ready in April, with deliveries beginning in May.

The alloy comes in bar, paste, solid and cored wire, ribbon, preforms, spheres, and final finish forms, and has a full line of fluxes.

MANILA, PHILIPPINES —  October imports of raw materials for electronics production -- which makes up more than one-third of the Philippines' overall annual imports -- slumped 30% year-over-year, according to the National Statistics Office.

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LOS ALTOS, CA – Global electronic equipment revenues will fall 2.2% in 2009, before rebounding to 6.7% growth in 2010, according to a new forecast by Henderson Ventures.

The firm estimates 2008 will show a 1.2% gain, lower than previous forecasts.

According to Henderson, the US will take a 4.4% hit in 2009, then recover 4.3% in 2010. Japan will fall 5.3%, then rebound to 4.6% growth in 2010. Western Europe will decline 6% in 2009, then grow 3.8% in 2010.

China is an exception: It will grow 2.3% in 2009 and 10.1% in 2010.

Declines in commodity prices in 2009 should permit some equipment manufacturers to maintain profitability, Henderson says.

Mobile markets will be hard hit, with cutbacks expected for previously planned 3G rollouts. Overall, handsets sales are predicted to decline 3.2% in 2009, then rebound 10.3% in 2010.