Many people in China know Agfa for its photo film, but that's not the whole picture of the Agfa-Gevaert Group headquartered in Mortsel, Belgium.

Its strongest sectors are in graphic system and health care.

Graphic systems represents 40 per cent of the group's sales and health care accounts for 33 per cent, while photo film only has a share of around 7 per cent of its total global business revenue.

Therefore, the company's strategy in China is to stress the of graphic systems and health care sectors in the coming years for investment and co-operation, said Ludo Verhoeven, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Agfa, in an interview on Monday in Beijing.

"We consider China as our first priority," Verhoeven noted.

For example, he continued, the group's biggest investment last year went to China for the establishment of the Agfa (Wuxi) Imaging Co Ltd.

The Wuxi plant, with a significant investment of 50 million euros (US$64.38 million) in East China's Jiangsu Province, opened in October last year and has an annual capacity of 25 million square metres of graphic printing plates.

The plant can satisfy 70 per cent of the demand in the Chinese market with analogue and digital plates in addition to exporting to other Asian markets.

"China is a booming market for digital products," Verhoeven said.

This was echoed by Stefaan Vanhooren, managing director of Agfa Asia-Pacific region, who said China is one of the most advanced countries in the world in terms of the use of the world's most advanced digital products in the graphic systems and medical care sectors.

In the face of the accelerated transition from computer-to-film to computer-to-plates, China is expected to record a more than 20 per cent annual increase of the demand for digital printing plates.

Therefore, the Wuxi plant will enhance Agfa's flexibility to adapt as the industry shifts to digital.

Vanhooren also said he was deeply impressed by the Chinese Government's care for its people as many hospitals in the country equip themselves with the world's most advanced digital diagnosis machines, creating a potentially huge market in the health care sector for multinationals like Agfa.

The Agfa executives said many companies in the past did not expect that China would have advanced so fast in embracing digital era in the printing and medical care sectors.

To grasp the abundant business opportunities, it is a very important moment for Agfa to enhance the company's presence in China after the country joined the World Trade Organization in December 2001 as the market opens wider and its size rapidly expands, they said.

Agfa will take the following effective measures to solidify its position in China:

* Invest more manpower in the Wuxi plant;

* Negotiate with relevant Chinese authorities on the establishment of a digital training school for Chinese doctors to help promote the development of remote online diagnosis;

* Set up hospital forums to promote technology exchanges;

* Establish a purchasing centre in the country next year to source materials for its Chinese manufacturing facilities and factories in other parts of the world;

* Set up some software organizations by the end of next year to enhance local software research and development.

"We want to produce locally, purchase locally, provide services locally and source materials locally," said Verhoeven.

Regarding photo film, Verhoeven said his company will still sell its photo film worldwide as Agfa takes a leading position in the European photo film market.

Agfa will seek other development opportunities in the Chinese market, including the possibility of acquisition, in addition to continuing its competition in the photo film market against its rivals like Kodak and Fuji.

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