Thakral Corporation Ltd - Consumer Electronics


Thakral Corporation Ltd ("TCL") has been listed on the Main Board of the Singapore Exchange Securities Trading Limited since 11 December 1995. 

The TCL Group is a distributor of consumer electronic products with operations mainly in the PRC (including Hong Kong). It distributes a portfolio of third party branded consumer electronics products, such as Panasonic, Nokia, Orion, Casio, Apple, Asus, Fuji, Kodak, Lenovo, Olympus, Pentax, Samsung, Sony, and Canon. Some of the products that the TCL group markets under these brand names include digital video cameras, digital still cameras, audio products including MP3/MP4/MP5 players, plasma televisions, console game players, desktop and notebook computers, personal digital assistants, electronic accessories and mobile phones.

The TCL group has created and marketed consumer products under its own brand name, namely  the "YES" brand, which is associated with a range of MP3 players and accessories compatible with the iPod, liquid crystal display televisions, portable DVD players, digital photo frames and memory cards.
 

The TCL group has a distribution and sourcing network in its principal markets of the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong.

TCL announced in May 2008 that it plans to reposition its principal business from consumer electronics distribution to real estate and related infrastructure investment in the pan-Asian region. TCL also announced that it may divest those assets that will no longer form part of its core activity going forward. This plan is subject to TCL receiving any required regulatory and shareholders’ approvals. On 3 December 2008, TCL announced that its Board of Directors had approved by a majority vote the execution of a Memorandum of Understanding ("MOU") with Payce Consolidated Limited ("Payce") to enter into certain properties transactions in Australia. Subsequently, TCL announced on 29 April 2009 that the MOU would terminate on 1 May 2009 as one of the conditions precedent to be satisfied by Payce in connection with the entry into the transactions with TCL as contemplated by the MOU, has not been and will not be satisfied. On December 1, 2009, TCL’s Board of Directors announced a capital reduction and cash distribution exercise subject to receipt of approvals from its shareholders and the regulatory and legal authorities in Singapore. Concurrently with the capital reduction exercise, CYI announced its intention to sell 21% of its total shareholding in TCL through a placement exercise where settlement of the shares purchased would be after the completion of TCL’s capital reduction and cash distribution exercise. On June 9, 2010, TCL announced that the expected date of payment of the cash distribution of S$0.05 per issued share in TCL was July 7, 2010. On July 8, 2010, CYI announced that it had proceeded to complete the sale of 536,000,000 shares out of 550,000,000 shares in TCL available in the placement exercise to the various purchasers and that arising from its sale of the 536,000,000 shares in TCL, it will retain, through its subsidiaries a 13.9% shareholding interest in TCL. CYI has since, sold additional TCL shares in the open market resulting in its shareholding interest in TCL decreasing further from 13.9% to 12.3%.