China's major consumer electronics and mobile-phone maker TCL Corp. announced earlier last week that it had slashed the prices on its core models of wide-screen liquid crystal display (LCD) television sets by up to 30 percent.

TCL Corp.'s move was aimed at countering the aggressive expansion by foreign rivals into China's higher-end TV market, said Shi Wanwen, general manager of TCL's multimedia products division.

But some analysts said the real intention of TCL selling its 27-inch LCD TVs 5,000 yuan (US$603.86) cheaper than its rivals was to grab a larger slice of the fast-growing LCD market.

Worldwide production of LCD TVs skyrocketed to 3.63 million units last year, up 163 percent year on year compared with a year ago.

Some industry observers expected the output of LCD TVs in the world to jump 112 percent year on year this year to 7.69 units as the Olympic Games in Athens this summper would greatly boost demand.

Domestic market research firm Sino Marketing estimated that production of LCD TVs in China was expected to surge 200 percent year on year to 165,000 units this year.

Domestic TV makers have turned to higher-end products such as plasma and LCD TVs to escape an intense price war in the overcrowded industry, which has seen the number of players whittled to more than a dozen from some 200 brands just a few years ago. ¡¡¡¡

Huizhou, Guangdong-based TCL is one of several Chinese firms, including home appliance maker Haier and mobile phone company Ningbo Bird, that harbor global growth ambitions as margins narrow and competition heats up at home.

TCL International, TCL's Hong Kong-listed unit, is partnering with France's Thomson SA to form the world's largest TV producer.

TCL, which is one of the targets of an anti-dumping levies imposed by the United States earlier this month, announced last week it would shift some production for the United States to Thailand and Mexico to minimize the impact of the U.S. anti-dumping tariffs.

Editor: Donald