46 : The Global eBook Market: Current Conditions & Future Projections ties. Thus, GAPP has signed agreements with several companies in the communications sector, including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. To hasten the growth of industrial and digital publishing initiatives, the telecom organizations will help propel the digitization process of traditional publishing as well. Status Report In 2011, China’s epublishing market (or digital pub- lishing operating income, which includes not only books but all digital content industries) grew by 31 percent to total revenues of ¥137.8 billion (China Daily, August 29, 2012 GAPP’s [2011 Nationwide News and Publication Industry Analysis Report] July 7, 2012). According to the GAPP report for 2011, all national publishing, printing, and distribution services combined achieved an operating income of ¥1.46 trillion, a 17.7 percent increase of 219.3 billion over 2010. There was an added value of ¥402.2 billion, a 14.8 percent increase of ¥51.83 billion. A July 2012 press release for the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) asserts that China is the second-largest publishing market in the world. Yet a comparison of the publishing market in China to those of North America and Europe must take into account not only great dis- parities of income levels and standards of living, but also signi cant di erences in the structure of the market and consumption patterns. The Book Publishing Environment Over the last decade, China has made considerable e orts to grow and professionalize its (printed book) publishing sector. Although all of China’s approximately 580 publishing houses are under direct state ownership and control by GAPP, during the last ten years some 10,000 “cultural studios” have been created, of which many act as publishing units but with cooperative con- tracts with the state-owned houses for ISBN assignment. By acquiring the foreign rights of more than 10,000 titles per year (2011: 14,708 titles, an increase of 7 percent happen, it is even harder to imagine 2013 ending with- out at least three of the Big Five launching their tropical operations. According to market vibes, 2013 is going to be the digital year for Brazil—just in time for Brazil to host soccer’s FIFA World Cup in 2014. China 2012 The Ambitious Plan Ahead— Combining Content and Capital The 12th Five-Year Development Plan for the Press and Publication Industry that China released in 2011 approved, among other things, 23 projects in support of digital publishing or technological innovation. The creation of ve new “national digital publishing bases” in 2011 made for a total of nine such enterprises, with a combined revenue of ¥42 billion, or 30.5 percent of total Chinese/global revenue for digital publishing in 2011. Even at the September 2012 exchange rate of about ¥6.28 to the US dollar, this is a considerable amount (Liu Binjie at Beijing International Publishing Forum [BIPF], August 28, 2012). As Liu Binjie, minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and of the National Copyright Administration, pointed out at the Beijing International Publishing Forum held on August 28, 2012, the government shows great interest in encouraging (and guiding) the development of digital publishing in China. Four administrative decisions support the e ort: First, the government will give a signi cant percentage of special funding for cultural development to digital publishing projects. Second, strategic investors and nancial capital will be encouraged to focus on cultural industry. GAPP has signed strategic cooperation agree- ments with several important Chinese banks to provide loans (up to several hundred billion yuan, according to Liu) to enterprises in digital publication. Also, technology and publishing operations will be urged to forge closer
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46 : The Global eBook Market: Current Conditions & Future Projections ties. Thus, GAPP has signed agreements with several companies in the communications sector, including China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom. To hasten the growth of industrial and digital publishing initiatives, the telecom organizations will help propel the digitization process of traditional publishing as well. Status Report In 2011, China’s epublishing market (or digital pub- lishing operating income, which includes not only books but all digital content industries) grew by 31 percent to total revenues of ¥137.8 billion (China Daily, August 29, 2012 GAPP’s [2011 Nationwide News and Publication Industry Analysis Report] July 7, 2012). According to the GAPP report for 2011, all national publishing, printing, and distribution services combined achieved an operating income of ¥1.46 trillion, a 17.7 percent increase of 219.3 billion over 2010. There was an added value of ¥402.2 billion, a 14.8 percent increase of ¥51.83 billion. A July 2012 press release for the Beijing International Book Fair (BIBF) asserts that China is the second-largest publishing market in the world. Yet a comparison of the publishing market in China to those of North America and Europe must take into account not only great dis- parities of income levels and standards of living, but also signi cant di erences in the structure of the market and consumption patterns. The Book Publishing Environment Over the last decade, China has made considerable e orts to grow and professionalize its (printed book) publishing sector. Although all of China’s approximately 580 publishing houses are under direct state ownership and control by GAPP, during the last ten years some 10,000 “cultural studios” have been created, of which many act as publishing units but with cooperative con- tracts with the state-owned houses for ISBN assignment. By acquiring the foreign rights of more than 10,000 titles per year (2011: 14,708 titles, an increase of 7 percent happen, it is even harder to imagine 2013 ending with- out at least three of the Big Five launching their tropical operations. According to market vibes, 2013 is going to be the digital year for Brazil—just in time for Brazil to host soccer’s FIFA World Cup in 2014. China 2012 The Ambitious Plan Ahead— Combining Content and Capital The 12th Five-Year Development Plan for the Press and Publication Industry that China released in 2011 approved, among other things, 23 projects in support of digital publishing or technological innovation. The creation of ve new “national digital publishing bases” in 2011 made for a total of nine such enterprises, with a combined revenue of ¥42 billion, or 30.5 percent of total Chinese/global revenue for digital publishing in 2011. Even at the September 2012 exchange rate of about ¥6.28 to the US dollar, this is a considerable amount (Liu Binjie at Beijing International Publishing Forum [BIPF], August 28, 2012). As Liu Binjie, minister of the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) and of the National Copyright Administration, pointed out at the Beijing International Publishing Forum held on August 28, 2012, the government shows great interest in encouraging (and guiding) the development of digital publishing in China. Four administrative decisions support the e ort: First, the government will give a signi cant percentage of special funding for cultural development to digital publishing projects. Second, strategic investors and nancial capital will be encouraged to focus on cultural industry. GAPP has signed strategic cooperation agree- ments with several important Chinese banks to provide loans (up to several hundred billion yuan, according to Liu) to enterprises in digital publication. Also, technology and publishing operations will be urged to forge closer

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