Looking beyond the real horizon

The TCL section at a mobile phone expo in Guangzhou, capital of Guangdong province. TCL Corp is recalling devices believed to have design flaws. [Photo/China Daily]

TCL to accelerate outbound moves in emerging markets to keep growth streams running, reports Xu Jingxi in Shenzhen, Guangdong.

TCL Corp, a forerunner of Chinese firms venturing outbound for large mergers and acquisitions, will accelerate its globalization moves again with a focus on emerging markets.

The electronics giant plans to build manufacturing bases in India and Brazil this year and expand into Russia and Africa next year or in 2017, according to Liang Qichun, its assistant president.

"Domestic demand has been overdrawn by a series of stimulus measures, so overseas markets will be a vital engine for growth," he said.

"The domestic market has been tough since the second half of last year, but we have seen good growth in emerging markets."

Sales of TCL mobile phones and other mobile products from January to June saw a year-on-year growth of 16.3 percent, and 86 percent of the sales came from overseas markets, according to the corporation's interim report.

Notably, sales of intelligent terminals in the Middle East and Africa in the first half of this year saw a big year-on-year growth of 68 percent.

"Display technologies and telecommunication technologies are being upgraded globally, with 4G phones and 4K curved TVs being promoted widely across the world," Liang said.

"We must grasp the opportunity to promote our new technologies and products especially in emerging markets so that we can tap into the huge demand generated by large-scale update of electronics products in these markets."

Liang said that the mobile phones and televisions in common use in emerging markets are outdated, so local people have great desire for a smartphone and a high-definition TV.

"The market potential is very big but the spending power is not strong enough in some emerging markets such as India," he said.

The Indian population will outnumber the Chinese population to be the biggest in the world in 2022, according to the latest revision of the United Nations' World Population Prospects.

As the Indian economy develops fast, the middle class will continue to expand, strengthening the market's spending power, Liang said.