|
BIZCHINA> Top Biz News
![]() |
|
Publishers in makeover
By Liu Jie (China Daily)
Updated: 2009-07-27 07:55
Michael Jackson, the "king of pop," died on June 25. Just six days later, the 130,000-word book, Moonwalk in Paradise: The Michael Jackson Biography, was on bookshelves in China. The "instant book" was published by China's Xiandai Publishing House and instantly became a best-seller. "We have done a nice job in quickly responding to market needs," said Zang Yongqing, general editor of Beijing-based Xiandai. In fact, Moonwalk in Paradise remains on best-seller lists. Xiandai, a State-owned publisher, is abiding by the government's call for market-focused reform in the publishing industry to create a more competitive sector with a global reach. The General Administration of Press and Publication, or GAPP, China's publishing industry regulatory body, released the "Guidelines on Further Reform of the Press and Publication System" in May. The guidelines call on the country's mostly State-owned publishers to make the transition from government-supported enterprises to for-profit, market-based businesses.
The government is allowing private sector investments, which the government anticipates will be accompanied by marketing and market-minded management expertise. A State-owned publishing unit now is allowed to sell as much as 49 percent of its holdings to domestic private investors. The guidelines also allow foreign investments, but no detailed provisions accompanied those guidelines. State-owned presses can also attract capital by being listed on securities exchanges or by joining other State-owned companies in bids to go public. The government also is encouraging partnerships to combine well-run publishing businesses, apparently hoping that another result is the demise of poor-quality enterprises. GAPP Minister Liu Binjie said six or seven publishing giants, each with assets and annual revenues exceeding 10 billion yuan, will be established to compete globally within the next three to five years.
There are 579 State-owned publishing houses in China. By January, 260 had implemented market reforms or removed themselves from government support systems by setting up new financing and operations models. Among the publishing houses taking the lead is Shanghai-listed Time Publishing & Media Co Ltd, a unit of the State-owned Anhui Publishing Group in Anhui province. The State-owned Anhui Publishing Group, which specializes in the publication of technology-related books and periodicals, obtained a back door listing in January 2008. (For more biz stories, please visit Industries)
|
||||||
连云港市| 舒兰市| 故城县| 三原县| 商丘市| 沈阳市| 筠连县| 丹东市| 玉林市| 清徐县| 上蔡县| 青河县| 浙江省| 江北区| 和顺县| 连江县| 呼图壁县| 嘉兴市| 桑植县| 澄城县| 怀来县| 九江县| 澄迈县| 镇巴县| 新竹县| 长春市| 海阳市| 醴陵市| 雅安市| 石棉县| 余庆县| 松潘县| 织金县| 成都市| 西充县| 武胜县| 沙坪坝区| 清涧县| 会泽县| 芦山县| 雷州市|