TCL Speeds Up Technological Innovation by
Collaborating with HKU, HKUST and CUHK on R&D
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Launches OLED Laboratory and Develops A.I. High-end Technologies

(3 August 2017, Hong Kong) TCL Corporation ("TCL Corporation", Shenzhen Stock Exchange: 100.SZ), and TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited ("TCL Multimedia", HKSE stock code: 1070.HK) announced the R&D collaboration with the top three universities in Hong Kong. TCL Corporation held an opening ceremony of the "HKU-TCL Joint Laboratory for New Printable OLED Materials and Technology" at the University of Hong Kong ("HKU") yesterday morning, and signed strategic cooperation agreements with the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology ("HKUST") and the Chinese University of Hong Kong ("CUHK"), respectively, in the afternoon at the Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks ("HKSTP"). Mr. Li Dongsheng, Chairman of TCL Corporation and TCL Multimedia, Mr. Tan Tieniu, Vice Minister of Liaison Office of the Central People's Government in the Hong Kong S.A.R., Professor Peter Mathieson, President and Vice-Chancellor of HKU, Professor Tony Chan, President of HKUST, Professor Benjamin Wah, Acting Vice-Chancellor of CUHK, Mr. Albert Wong, CEO of HKSTP, Mr. Zhong Hai, Deputy Director of Science, Technology and Innovation Commission of Shenzhen Municipality, along with management of the universities attended the ceremonies.

As a global smart product manufacturing and internet application service enterprise, TCL Corporation firmly adheres to the developmental strategy that the corporation's progress is driven by the innovation of technology, and actively constructs an industry and technology blueprint to promote the corporation's sustainable development. In 2014, TCL set up the TCL Hong Kong Research and Development Centre ("TCL HK R&D Centre") to capitalize on Hong Kong's geographical advantages and the aggregation of international talents in the territory, enhancing its overall technological innovation and development of the Group.

Due to its position as an international and technologically advanced metropolitan, Hong Kong has long been included by TCL as part of its domain in the strategic plan. It has initiated a series of specialised R&D projects with various local universities. The "HKU-TCL Joint Laboratory for New Printable OLED Materials and Technology", and the strategic partnerships with HKUST and CUHK comprise the comprehensive development of R&D, application of technological results, and talents cultivation in the fields of Artificial Intelligence ("A.I.") and new display technology. The move also marks a significant step in the corporation's plan to obtain international state-of-the-art technologies. TCL intends to leverage the collaborative model of resource sharing, complementary strengths, mutual benefits and joint development to actualise the win-win situation of academic technological innovation and industry application, and accelerate its progress towards internationalisation.

Mr. Li Dongsheng, Chairman of TCL Corporation and TCL Multimedia, said at the opening ceremony held yesterday morning, "The establishment of this joint laboratory is a milestone in the development history of TCL's technological innovation. TCL will invest RMB15 million in setting up of the laboratory, and provide industrial resources to accelerate the application of technological results. Utilising the world-class R&D team of the HKU, coupled with TCL's competitive strengths and innovation in the area of displays, we will develop OLED core materials with its own intellectual property rights to break the monopolisation of the international OLED technology and achieve breakthroughs in the OLED materials industry, thereby building a sturdy technological foundation for the development of TCL's display business."

Chairman Li remarked at the signing ceremony of the strategic partnership in the afternoon, "TCL, together with HKUST and CUHK will conduct in-depth strategic cooperation in the fields of A.I. and new display technologies, including the commercialisation of technological results, establishment of joint laboratory, talents cultivation and trainee programme. It will further promote the technological and cultural exchanges between mainland China and Hong Kong. I believe that, with collaboration among TCL HK R&D Center and the three top universities in Hong Kong, we can keep in line with the advanced international technologies and deliver the leading technological findings in the fields we corporate, thus achieving the industrial applications of these results in the near future."

TCL Hong Kong R&D Centre leads a pioneering role in A.I. technologies in TCL's technological innovation blueprint. Stationed in HKSTP in November 2014, the center has become one of the largest business partners within the park. Its R&D team will be expanded to 600 to 800 staffs.
 

About TCL Corporation
TCL Corporation ("TCL Corporation", SZSE stock code: 100.SZ), headquartered in China and owned five listed companies, has a full range of industrial ecological chain that includes a variaty of products comprising TV, mobile phone, refrigerator and washing machine, air conditioner, small appliances, LCD panels, etc and conducted businesses in more than 160 countires and regions. TCL Corporation has been crowned as the top TV brand in China for a consecutive 11 years. It has two 23 research centres around the globe with over 7,000 R&D staff. Its annual investment in R&D accounts for more than 4% of the sales income. The R&D investment in 2016 is RMB4.27 billion. A total of 24,669 patent applications are applied including 10,986 of patent licenses and 6,700 of patent applications under Patent Cooperation Treaty ("PCT"). The amount of patent applications ranked No.4 among China's enterprises.

About TCL Multimedia
Headquartered in China, TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Limited (HKSE stock code: 01070) is one of the leading players in the global TV industry, engaged in the research and development, manufacturing and distribution of consumer electronic products. Through a new product-and-user-oriented business model that focuses primarily on a "double +" strategy which includes "intelligence + internet" and "products + services" as the main direction, it strives to build a comprehensive ecosystem for smart TVs that provides users with an exquisite experience with its smart products and services. The Group ranked No.3 in the global LCD TV market with a market share of 7.3% in the first quarter of 2017 according to the latest IHS Technology figures and the Company's shipment data, and ranked No.3 in the PRC LCD TV market with a market share of 13.6% in the first half of 2017 according to CMM's report. The Group is included in the eligible shares list of the Shenzhen-Hong Kong Stock Connect. For more information, please visit its website: http://multimedia.tcl.com.