Looking beyond the real horizon

The overseas businesses contributed to only one-third of the corporation's operating revenue in 2009, and given the rapid growth, Li expected the share to be more than half this year.

"Many people think that TCL's acquisitions of Thomson and Alcatel failed, but I don't think so. I would still make the acquisitions if I were given a chance to change my decision," Li said.

"Going global is a route that Chinese enterprises must take."

TCL set out again on this route this year, taking a role as a technological leader that opens up new markets and promotes its own brand, different from the role as an acquirer of brands and technologies in the past.

Brand TCL is going to replace the Thomson brand that TCL televisions have been using in Europe since 2004 by 2017, according to Liang, who is also general manager of TCL's branding department.

TCL mainly uses the Alcatel brand for its mobile phones sold overseas, taking advantage of the brand's resources as a telecom operator, but has also launched products under the TCL brand in some markets, he said.

"We will use the TCL brand in all the emerging markets that we plan to enter," Liang said.

"Our goal is to accomplish a transition step by step from operating multiple brands to using a unified TCL brand worldwide."

Also, to tailor-make products for different markets, TCL has also put a lot of effort into enhancing its research and development capability in the past five years.

It set up China Star Optoelectronics Technology in Shenzhen in 2009 with an investment of about 24.5 billion yuan. It has grown into the largest liquid crystal display panel maker in the Chinese mainland. CSOT contributed 60 percent of TCL's net profit in the first half of 2015, according to the interim report.

According to Liang, TCL is also developing 5G mobile phones.

Bai Ming, deputy director of international market research at the Chinese Academy of International Trade and Economic Cooperation, a think tank under the Ministry of Commerce, said that the changes in TCL's strategy of going global reflect the changes in China's position in international division of labor.

"Chinese enterprises have been investing more on R&D and branding and are moving from the bottom of 'smiling curve' to the two upper ends for higher added value," Bai said.

Contact the writer at xujingxi@chinadaily.com.cn