TCL Corporation, which was once known chiefly for the TVs that it produces, announced on Tuesday that it has received approval from the China Securities Regulatory Commission to issue corporate bonds worth up to RMB 9 billion (USD 133 million). The bond sales must be completed within 24 months, according to the company’s filing with the Shenzhen Stock Exchange.
After spinning off its TV set business to one of an affiliated company, TCL Holding, in the first quarter, TCL Corporation made a net profit of RMB 1 billion in the first three months of this year, up 27.1% year-on-year, its quarterly report shows. The corporation said that it will focus on semiconductors, new materials, venture capital investment, and other new business such as environmental protection after the shuffle.
TCL’s Q1 report also showed that Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Technology Co, one of the corporation’s subsidiaries, sold 5.56 million square meters in display screens to smartphone and TV set makers in the first three months of 2019. Shenzhen China Star is the largest vendor of 55-inch displays by worldwide shipments, and also the second-largest vendor of 33-inch displays. The company is expected to provide 65-inch display screens for Huawei’s smart TV sets.
Shenzhen China Star made a net profit of RMB 683 million (USD 100 million) in the first quarter of 2019, up 35.2% compared to the fourth quarter of last year.
TCL Capital, another affiliate of TCL Corporation, manages funds worth RMB 9.37 billion (USD 1.38 billion). According to the corporation’s Q1 financial report, TCL Capital has backed more than 108 companies, including artificial intelligence chipset maker Cambricon and big data analysis company Transwarp, both of which are unicorns.
Contact the writer at jingli@kr-asia.com