Five Taiwan home appliance manufacturers have entered the list of suppliers whose products are eligible for the central government subsidy program designed to boost rural consumption on the Chinese mainland, a spokeswoman said yesterday.

Four of them entered the list for the second time, the State Council's Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Fan Liqing said.

Since last year, rural residents on the mainland can receive a 13 percent subsidy offered by the government under the "home appliances for the countryside" program to buy home appliance such as color TVs, refrigerators, mobile phones and washing machines produced by firms on the list.

Including Taiwan-based ASUSTek Computer Inc, Acer and Top Victory Electronics, 478 Chinese and overseas companies are on this year's list.

Last year, Taiwan firms on the list sold about 47,000 products worth 108.6 million yuan (US$15.74 million) under the program, Fan said.