Fuji Photo Film Co, the world's No 2 maker of photographic films, is expected to sign an agreement with China Lucky Film Corp next month to set up a venture in China, the China Business paper reported, citing an unidentified Lucky official.
Lucky, a homegrown brand that has a fifth of the domestic market for photographic film, will own 60 percent of the new company, with Japan-based Fuji holding the rest, the paper said.
Officials of Lucky and Fuji declined to comment on the report.
If signed, the agreement means Fuji has beaten Kodak in their covert campaign in the past several years to snare a partnership with Lucky to enhance their edge in the domestic market.
Fuji, which dominated China's film market before rival Kodak was given exclusive rights to produce in China, wants to gain a firmer foothold in the world's biggest consumer market.
Currently, Kodak, Fuji and Lucky are the three largest players in the domestic roll-film market, with leader Kodak holding about 60 percent market share.
In 1998, Kodak reached an agreement with the government to take over three state-owned sensitive material plants in Shantou, Xiamen and Wuxi for US$1.2 billion.
The Shanghai-listed Lucky has been seeking ties with foreign companies for the last decade, but so far hasn't made any substantial progress.
(Shanghai Daily July 1, 2003)
