Serving world through electronics

TCL Corp expands its appliance footprint across emerging markets and BRI economies

TCL Corp, a Chinese home appliance manufacturer, is stepping up efforts to expand its presence in emerging markets such as India, Southeast Asia and South America through exports of its advanced manufacturing technologies.

In December, the Huizhou, Guangdong province-based TCL began construction of its first-ever smart integrated manufacturing industrial park in Tirupati. Located in Andhra Pradesh province in southern India, the plant is scheduled to commence production in the fourth quarter of this year.

The industrial park will include a panel module factory. The unit will be owned by Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co Ltd, a subsidiary of TCL.

The plant will manufacture displays for mobile phones and TVs, with a production capacity of 30 million 3.5-to 8-inch mobile screens and 8 million 22-to 55-inch TV screens each year.

In addition, the park will also include a smart display terminal manufacturing facility, which will produce 6 million 32-to 65-inch TV sets every year.

"India is a strategic market for TCL. Our investment in the semiconductor business here is a significant milestone in our globalization plans," said Li Dongsheng, chairman and CEO of TCL.

He said the project will strengthen TCL's supply chain integration capabilities in India and will benefit its local consumers, providing them with superior quality products at lower prices.

Under the Belt and Road Initiative, TCL commenced the construction of its new integrated manufacturing base in Binh Duong, Vietnam, in February.

Upon completion, it will become the largest digitalized manufacturing facility with a fully integrated supply chain among all of the Chinese TV brands' factories in Southeast Asian markets.

Covering 73,000 square meters, the new manufacturing base has a two-phase construction plan with a total investment of over $53.56 million.

The production capacity of phase one is expected to be up to 1 million TV units per year with an investment of $37.19 million, which is double the current production capacity of the factory in Dong Nai.

Once construction of phase two is completed with an investment of $16.37 million, the production capacity will reach a maximum of 3 million units per year.

According to TCL, the integrated manufacturing base will supply products to both the Vietnam market and other overseas markets, including the Philippines, Thailand, the US and Europe, to meet the growing demand for superior quality TVs.

"As our first overseas market, Vietnam has long been a strategic market for TCL and our investment in Vietnam is a significant part of our global expansion plans," said Wang Cheng, CEO of TCL Electronics.

"We will gradually introduce more superior products to Vietnam to satisfy the increasing needs of local consumers and help them live a better life, by leveraging our vertical integration capabilities," he said.

TCL entered the Vietnam market in 1999. In 2018, TCL's sales volume grew by 50 percent year-on-year in the country, where it is now the fourth-biggest TV brand.

Globally, TCL maintained robust growth last year. Its overall liquid crystal display or LCD TV sales volume rose by 23.1 percent year-on-year to 28.61 million sets worldwide, the company said.

In overseas markets, its LCD TV sales volume rose by 29.5 percent year-on-year to 18.21 million sets, contributing over 60 percent to the overall sales volume.

In the North American market, TCL continued to consolidate its leading position and climbed to second place in terms of sales volume in the third quarter of 2018, according to the latest NPD market research report. In the emerging markets, including South America, the company maintained its fast growth.

According to a report by research firm Sigmaintell, TCL ranked second globally in terms of shipping volume in 2018, next only to Samsung.

Founded in 1981, TCL has become one of the largest Chinese consumer electronics manufacturers, producing mobile phones, televisions and home appliances, among other consumer goods.

So far, TCL has established eight plants in overseas markets, including Brazil, Argentina, Philippines, Indonesia and some African countries.

In 2018, TCL owned 28 research and development institutions, with operations in more than 160 countries and regions around the world.

It set up a European R& D center in Poland in September 2018 with focus on research into artificial intelligence, as part of its broader push to expand its presence in the European market.

Dong Min, general manager at Beijing consultancy All View Cloud, said TCL has accelerated its efforts to expand overseas. It was therefore necessary for TCL to establish an R & D center and manufacturing bases in overseas markets to boost local sales.

TCL revenue rose 15.5 percent year-on-year to 29.6 billion yuan in the first quarter of 2019. It invested 1.58 billion yuan on R & D in the quarter, up more than 60 percent year-on-year, according to the Sigmaintell report.

TCL carried out a corporate restructuring last year. Its consumer electronics, home appliance and terminals businesses will be split off from the listed company as the latter shifts its focus to the semiconductor display sector.

fanfeifei@chinadaily.com.cn