According to Tan Junqiao, Senior Advisor to the China Printing and Printing Equipment Industry Association, the development of the domestic printing industry largely benefited from foreign capital while at the same time the latter shared the benefits of China's rapid economic growth.

Tan cited Guangdong Province as an example, saying that foreign printing companies have brought advanced technologies, equipment and management expertise to Guangdong, promoting the improvement of the local printing industry and boosting the development of private printing companies. On the other hand, foreign investors have also benefited from the industry's robust development.

Many Hong Kong companies expanded their factories after they came to the mainland. With reduced labor costs and prior orders from abroad, they were much more competitive than the state-owned enterprises. Most of these Hong Kong companies have gained very good economic returns.

Now, many international printing giants are doing business in China, either making investments or selling printing machines, both of which have generated profits.

Germany-based Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG (Heidelberg), one of the world's leading solution providers for the print media industry, had an excellent performance in China last year. It continued to take the lead in the market share for sheet-fed offset printing machines.

In its 2005-06 fiscal year, Heidelberg prepared to build a new production base in Shanghai to produce printing machines for the Chinese market. This is the first factory that Heidelberg has planned to build outside Germany in the new century. Last year, related contracts were signed and the business license was issued to the company. The new factory will cover a production area of 5,000 square meters with a total investment of 10 million euros.

In addition to diversified investors, the trend of scale development can also be seen in the printing industry. Last year, enterprise groups, or large companies, accounted for a large proportion of the top 100 printing companies in China. Of the top 10, eight were enterprise groups.