The world's largest cosmetics group L'Oreal has said it will launch the Chinese brand Yue-Sai on the world stage because of the growing recognition of Chinese beauty.

"Yue-Sai will be the ambassador of Chinese beauty in the world," said Paolo Gasparrini, president of L'Oreal China, in an interview after a news conference on Friday.

Three series of new Yue-Sai products were launched and the movie star Shu Qi was unveiled as the brand's first spokesperson at the gathering. L'Oreal has brushed aside worries that it was planning to put the Chinese brand on the shelf after acquiring it, as some foreign companies have been doing.

Though a timetable was not revealed, Gasparrini said the company will promote the brand in Asia and then Europe and North America.

"We have found a wonderful spokeswoman for Yue-Sai and we will activate more research and development (R&D) for the brand. After we consolidate the brand's resources and make it strong enough in the Chinese market, it will be ready to go to the rest of the world," he said.

Gasparrini said Yue-Sai will be promoted in the international market as its make-up range Maybelline has been. Acquired in 1996, Maybelline was successfully taken outside the United States and now leads the global make-up market.

"We want to promote Yue-Sai in China and the world, supported by our global "war machine", which includes our expertise in R&D, power of distribution and other resources of our group," he said.

The company has set up an international marketing team for Yue-Sai in Shanghai.

A considerable part of the company's R&D centre in China, set to open in Shanghai this year, will be devoted to the Yue-Sai brand.

L'Oreal acquired Yue-Sai, which was founded by Chinese-American TV celebrity Yue-Sai Kan, in January 2004.

"I believe I have a good partnership this time and L'Oreal can fulfill my dream to promote Chinese beauty to the world," said Kan, who attended the conference on Friday.

Yue-Sai has been developed to be the Chinese cosmetics brand with the most comprehensive range of product categories.

Gasparrini said the internationalization of the Yue-Sai brand is achievable as China is becoming more popular in its drive to open up to the world, and more people have come to appreciate Chinese beauty.

"They discover the beauty of Chinese women and one day French and Italian people will buy Chinese cosmetics," he said.

Sales of L'Oreal almost doubled in China to reach 3 billion yuan (US$362.3 million) in 2004.

The rising market demand drove L'Oreal to expand production in China.

The company is set to begin the construction of the second phase of its Suzhou plant today.

The expansion will double the plant's production capacity to 240 million units annually, and is expected to be completed in June next year.

Besides the Suzhou plant, L'Oreal has facilities in Pudong, Shanghai, which formerly belonged to Yue-Sai, and another plant in Yichang of central China's Hubei Province that was acquired through buying out Mininurse in 2003.

(China Daily April 25, 2005)