--File-- A visitor walks past the stand of TCL during a fair in Shanghai, China, 20 March 2012. TCL Corp. televisions now hang in Beijings Great Hall of the People, replacing Panasonic Corp. sets in a sign that Chinas biggest flat-panel TV maker is piling on to the woes besetting Japans industry. The TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Ltd. unit leapt past both Panasonic and Osaka-based Sharp Corp. in the first quarter to become the worlds fifth-biggest liquid-crystal display TV maker by market share, according to researcher to DisplaySearch. Sony Corp., which has said its counting on expanded sales channels in China to help narrow losses on TVs, came third behind South Koreas Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Electronics Inc. TCL Multimedias rise in the ranks comes as a near postwar - high yen, falling TV prices, South Korean competition and slack demand in Europe and the U.S. have left Sony, Sharp and Panasonic with a combined 1.6 trillion yen ($20 billion) in annual losses. Panasonic has even lost the distinction of worlds largest high-definition 3D TV at 103 inches, bested again by TCL, which makes a 110-inch model.
