Guanhao: Banking on fine paper for business
Zhanjiang is by no means short of ambitious local entrepreneurs.
Huang Yangxu started Guanhao High-Tech Co in early 1995 and it became one of the largest thermal papermakers in China. It was listed on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in 2003.
In 2009, he sold controlling shares to conglomerate China Chengtong Holdings Group and has since acted as the general manager of Guanhao.
Guanhao generated 931.19 million yuan ($152.1 million) in revenues last year, down 0.29 percent from 2011, and reported net profits of 202.19 million yuan, up 137 percent. Assets totaled 2.2 billion yuan in 2012.
With total annual paper-coating capacity of 150,000 tons, the company’s major product lines include thermal paper, carbonless copy paper and label stock materials.
Its wholly owned subsidiary Zhanjiang Guanlong Paper Industry Co has the capacity of turning out 60,000 tons of base paper every year.
The domestic market is expanding rapidly for thermal paper used for printing lottery tickets, supermarket receipts and POS machine receipts, among other applications, said Jin Jianrong, executive general manager of the company.
Annual per capita use of thermal paper globally is estimated at 7 kilograms, but in China the average is less than 1 kilogram, she said.
Jin envisions broad prospects for stock materials used in labeling items such as food, medicines and daily household products.
In the carbonless copy paper line, Guanhao has been the sole supplier of anti-forgery value-added tax special invoice paper for the State Administration of Taxation since 1996. It won the bid for supplying VAT common invoice paper in January.
“With advancement of national reform in replacing business tax with value-added tax, the winning of the bid is set to have a positive impact on our operation,” the company said in a statement.
It has also been a key carbonless copy paper supplier for the courier service of China Post since 2000.
Guanhao is expanding its annual paper coating capacity to 350,000 tons with a new site on Donghai Island in Zhanjiang which is also designed to produce 125,000 tons of base paper annually, Jin said.
The complex is planned to start operation later this year.
Guanhao acquired a 24.93 percent share of Tianjin Zhongchao Paper Industry Co last year to become its second-largest shareholder.
Tianjin Zhongchao produces paper for printing bank notes, checks and drafts, which is in line with Guanhao’s strategy for high added-value products and allows the two companies to cooperate more closely in anti-forgery technology, Jin said.
Guanhao also owns Xingang Printing Co, which has plants in Zhanjiang and Guangzhou.
Guanhao was identified in 1997 as a key high-tech enterprise under the national Torch Plan and runs a provincial-level specialty paper research and development center.