New Delhi: The year 2003 will be remembered as being a landmark one, with several multinational brands trying to re-enter an already overcrowded Indian market even as domestic players vied to set up manufacturing bases abroad and Indianise the global market.

Chinese mega brands Haier and TCL have returned despite biting the dust the first time round; Korean brand Daewoo has forged an equity tie-up with Anchor Electronics for its second trial in the Indian market. Japanese major Aiwa has also been re launched in the country by Sony, which acquired it globally.

But even as global brands are trying to get a foothold in India, domestic companies have trained their sights on foreign lands for setting up manufacturing units and making Indian brands global.

Thus, Onida has adopted a two-pronged strategy wherein it has decided to sell India-made products through its offices in the Middle East and set up a full-fledged manufacturing base in the Ukraine to service the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) market.

Coupled with an over 15 per cent growth in colour television sales this year, the industry is hopeful of hitting the 10 million unit sales mark in 2004.