South Korean electronics companies may be threatened by the emergence of giant Chinese rivals that could be created through a government-led industry-wide restructuring, a report predicted Tuesday.

The projection comes as the Chinese government has voiced its firm will to nurture major electronics firms similar to Lenovo, the world’s largest PC maker, by 2015.

“There are growing chances that the industry-wide restructuring may lead to the emergence of large electronics companies, amid increasing domestic competition,” said the report by LG Economic Research Institute, an affiliate of South Korean conglomerate LG.

Traditional manufacturers such as Haier are also beefing up efforts to protect their market share while retailers and new IT firms are entering the already-saturated market.

“China’s electronics firms may move to beef up their size, with major firms such as Huawei, Lenovo, Haier and ZTE leading the restructuring,” the report said.

Chinese electronics manufacturers may expand their growing clout in the smartphone market to the home appliance market on the back of their improving technology and increasing size, it said.

“They will become a bigger threat to South Korean electronics firms,” the report said. “Local companies need to ramp up countermeasures against Chinese rivals.” (Yonhap News)