UPDATE 1-Haier Group may cut '09 Asia ex-China sales target

* May lower sales forecast for Asia ex-China

* Only Japan may meet previous 20 percent sales growth target (Adds details)

TAIPEI, June 29 (Reuters) - Haier Group, China's largest home appliance maker, may lower its Asia-Pacific sales growth target outside of China for this year as the global economic slowdown affects revenue, a senior company official said on Monday.

The group, which is the parent company of electronics maker Haier Electronics Group Co (1169.HK) and Qingdao Haier Refrigerator Co (600690.SS), last year had forecast revenue growth for this year of about 20 percent.

"Looking at our sales figures for January to May, we may have to revise our growth target for this year slightly downwards," Yan Xiaoming, head of the company's Asia-Pacific operations, told reporters.

"Japan is the only place in the region where we may be able to meet the current targets."

"We hope that starting from the third quarter, growth will be good in the second half of the year. We've hit a bottom, and it's now time for us to climb upwards," Yan said.

Shares of Hong Kong-listed Haier Electronics were up 1.79 percent at mid-day, outperforming a 0.3 percent decline on the benchmark Hang Seng index .HSI.

Haier is a household name in China, but the company remains relatively unknown outside of its home market and has been aggressively expanding overseas in recent years to try to establish a foothold in countries such as the United States. [ID:nPEK329940]

The group competes with South Korea's LG Electronics (066570.KS), Sweden's Electrolux (ELUXb.ST) and General Electric (GE.N). (Reporting by Argin Chang; Editing by Ken Wills)