The CEO of Sharp Electronics Europe has said he wants to double the company's European business by the end of the 2007 financial year. The consumer electronics and components player sees business opportunities in both LCD TVs and photovoltaic solar energy systems.

Speaking at the Cebit PC-to-consumer exhibition last week, company CEO Hans Kleis said there were business opportunities across Europe, including the new EU member states and eastern European countries in particular.

The potential for the European consumer market was illustrated by the fact that Europe has recently overtaken Japan and become the largest market for LCD TVs in the world.

Japanese companies dominate the LCD TV market and will increase production by 46 percent this year, according to a report from the Japan Electronics and Information Technology Industries Association (JEITA).

Sharp has claimed that sales of its LCD TVs have reached five million in total, out of the overall world market of 14 million. The Japanese company said it shipped its latest million LCD TVs in just the last three months of 2004.

Growth in the consumer electronics market is also driving semiconductor sales. Chip sales for consumer applications grew by 29 percent last year to hit $45.95 billion, according to researcher iSuppli.