TCL Group, one of China's biggest TV and cell phone makers, set a production target of 20 million handsets this year after producing just 2.65 million in the first quarter.

The company was also standing by its target of about 24.5 million TV sets for the year, said Chief Technology Officer Yan Xiaolin on Thursday.

TCL Group is the State-owned parent of Shenzhen-listed TCL Corp., whose two main units are Hong Kong-listed cell phone maker TCL Communication Technology Holdings Ltd. and TV maker TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Ltd.

The 20 million-cell phone target would represent a doubling of TCL Communication's handset output of about 10 million units last year.

This year the company will receive contributions for the whole year from its recently dissolved joint venture with France's Alcatel, which the two companies formed last September. TCL announced last month it would take over the venture.

TCL Communication's sales, excluding the Alcatel venture, dropped 52 percent in the first quarter of this year to 1.11 million units, as the company lost ground in China's ultra competitive handset market.

Analysts say the company's performance could improve in the second half of the year as it clears out inventory and starts to roll out new models.

(Shenzhen Daily June 6, 2005)