The group is a business company under Beijing University.

Experts point out that once Founder has succeeded in its overseas listing, it will become the first state-owned Chinese hi-tech company rooted in the domestic market to be listed overseas.

This also indicates that some Chinese hi-tech enterprises have reaped good rewards from developing the overseas market, they say.

According to Founder's vice-president Alan Cheung, the group's subsidiaries in Malaysia and Japan, due to their outstanding performances and excellent international brand images in the overseas market, will soon be listed respectively in those two countries. Founder will also become the first Chinese company to be listed in Malaysia.

Li Rongrong, minister in charge of the State Economic and Trade Commission, pointed out recently that China expects more large-scale enterprises to be listed on overseas stock markets in order to better adapt to the economic globalization trend.

Experts believe that the landing on the international capital market by many large state-owned Chinese enterprises on the eve of the country's WTO entry will not only intensify their competitiveness but also stimulate the improvement of their management level.

The first case of overseas listing of a Chinese enterprise occurred in 1992, and now the number of overseas listed companies has exceeded 50.

The Founder Group is ranked among China's top 10 hi-tech giants. With its typeset printing system, the group controls some 80 percent of the domestic market for Chinese character printing and almost the entire overseas similar market.

"As a highly independent hi-tech company, Founder believes that it is possible and also necessary to take root in the international market and to show before the whole world our own strength," said Cheung.

Established in 1996, Founder Japan mainly caters to the Japanese printing, circulation, publications and press market, by providing relevant software technologies and thorough solution programs.

According to estimates by Softbank Finance Corporation, one of the world's leading venture capital investors, the market value of Founder Japan had already reached 5.5 billion Japanese yen in 2000, over 20 times the initial funding.

It is learned that Founder Japan will start with the listing process on Japan's Nasdaq stock market soon after finishing with the second round of efforts to attract strategic investors, which is currently underway.

Experts point out that, upon listing, Founder Japan will become the first Chinese shareholding company to be listed in Japan.

In the meantime, the listing of Founder Malaysia on the Malaysian stock market has entered the final stage.

Experts said that Chinese companies like Founder Group, which boasts its own intellectual property rights and brand images in the overseas market, have created good examples for other Chinese companies, which still constrain themselves to a limited market and are still embroiled in price wars.

As China's most famous hi-tech company, Founder Group has so far established an overseas fleet under its control with subsidiaries spreading from Canada, Japan and Malaysia to the Republic of Korea and other countries and regions.

(Agencies 08/07/2001)