TCL targets 20m mobile handsets
(Shenzhen Daily)
Updated: 2004-10-12 13:50

TCL chairman Li Dongsheng said the firm made about 10 million handsets last year but he expected the joint venture with Alcatel to boost demand from international markets and, subsequently, production.

“We expect our production to reach 20 million units and hope it could reach 50 million units in the long term,” Li told reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony marking the establishment of the Sino-French venture.

TCL Communication Technology Holdings, the mobile phone-making unit of TCL Corp., will take an initial 55 percent stake under the joint venture deal signed earlier this year. TCL Corp., which lists shares in Shenzhen, is to contribute 55 million euros (US$67.7 million) to the venture.

Alcatel will have 45 percent after contributing 45 million euros including its mobile handset business in China.

The venture paves the way for Alcatel’s eventual withdrawal from the money-losing handset business, while it marks another step by TCL toward its goal of becoming a global player by giving it access to Alcatel’s technology and to markets in Latin America, Africa and Europe.

Huizhou, Guangdong-based TCL is one of several homegrown firms, including appliance producer and mobile phone maker Ningbo Bird, that have global ambitions.

TCL controls about 12 percent of the Chinese handset market — the world’s largest — and gets access to GSM standard wireless technology, the dominant system around the world, without having to sacrifice margins by buying it.

TCL has been steadily gaining market share from foreign rivals such as Motorola Inc., Nokia and Siemens AG.

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