Gaolan Port to host lucrative, ambitious Ninestar

Ninestar Corp in Xiangzhou District will invest 9 billion yuan ($1.4 billion) in new facilities at the Gaolan Port Economic Zone. The agreement for a high-end printing industrial park was signed at the Zhuhai Holiday Resort Hotel on April 21.

The company, which changed its name from Apex Technology last May, produces laser printers using self-developed printing and integrated circuit chip technologies. It researches and develops, manufactures and distributes integrated circuit chips, general printing supplies and core components, and renewable printing materials. It is a global leader in the business.

Its Gaolan project, to be built in stages, is expected to have annual output exceeding 20 billion yuan ($3.2 billion). From there, Ninestar wants to secure a global client base for home-grown brands through independent R&D of laser printers. It will have a production capacity large enough to supply printers and accessories to markets around the globe, setting an example for the intelligent manufacture of hi-tech equipment.

Signing ceremony [Photo by Zeng Yao / Zhuhai Daily]

Pantum International Ltd, a Ninestar subsidiary, is responsible for the first domestically produced color laser printer in China; the CP2500 Printer series was launched last April. Pantum's breakthrough in technology reduces reliance on imported products in key sectors and fills a void in domestically produced printing products.

Seine Group, the controlling shareholder of Ninestar, helped complete the acquisition of US leading printer and imaging products manufacturer Lexmax for $3.9 billion at the end of 2016. This enhanced Ninestar's domestic and overseas market influence and core competitiveness, with revenue rocketing 270 percent year-on-year to 21.5 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) last year. It recorded 1 billion yuan ($159 million) in net profits, a 16-fold increase, according to Wang Dongying, chairman of the board of Ninestar.

It was the first company of its kind listed on the A-shares market with partial funding from the China Integrated Circuit Industry Investment Fund.

Jiang Jianping, Party secretary of the Gaolan Port Economic Zone and director of the Administrative Committee, pledged full support for the project, seeing it as a potential boon to both Gaolan and Zhuhai.

Zhuhai Mayor Yao Yisheng and Vice Mayor Lu Xiaofeng attended the signing ceremony.