Major Inks Products: Bauhinia Variegata Ink mainly produces gravure printing inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV printing inks, printed circuit board inks, solvents and environmentally friendly processing materials, which are widely used in various industries including food, beverage, daily necessities, industrial products, printed materials, electronic products, gift packaging, and decorative materials.

Number of Employees: 688 (inks business) (as of Dec. 31, 2024).

Comments: Yip’s Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited, Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited’s ink subsidiary, is the largest domestic ink manufacturer in China. In 2024, Yip’s Chemical has consolidated sales of US$407.39 million (HKD3.16 billion), with Yip’s Ink & Chemical reporting sales of US$175.81 million (HKD 1.36 billion), up 13% from 2023.

By implementing a robust sales strategy coupled with stringent cost control, Yip’s Chemical and Bauhinia Variegata Ink both achieved satisfying results in 2024. Bauhinia Variegata Ink has successfully gained more market share in a highly competitive market while effectively managing supply chain costs. As a result, sales increased by 13% in 2024 compared to 2023, with profit doubling.

Wing So, corporate communications & sustainability manager at Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited, pointed to important highlights for Yip’s Chemicals in 2024, including the acquisition of a new PCB ink operation.

“Our group’s leadership team has developed a new vision and strategy to adapt to future market opportunities with agility,” Wing observed. “We aim to leverage our strengths to establish a leading development platform for chemical businesses driven by innovation in green technologies, services and branding in niche markets, ensuring the continuous growth of our platform.

“Taking the inks business as an example, we successfully acquired the controlling stake in a printed circuit board (PCB) inks manufacturer in January 2024, which has a production base located in Huangshi, Hubei with annual production capacity of 2,400 metric tons,” added Wing. “The PCB inks sector is performing in line with our expectations and continues to grow steadily. Bauhinia Variegata Ink will continue to expand its product lines, including inks for electronic products and specialized inks for industrial product decoration and other niche markets.”

Wing noted that Yip’s Chemical’s inks business is the market leader in China, especially in the food packaging inks sector.

“With growing demand for food packaging inks in densely populated countries, we see strong potential for expansion,” Wing added. “Similar growth trends have emerged in several SoutheastAsian regions, reinforcing our strategy to extend our business internationally. To support this vision, the inks business’s management team has been actively engaging with potential customers across Southeast Asia.”

Yip’s Chemical primarily produces ink for the Chinese market, so tariffs aren’t a concern, and might be an advantage going forward. “Currently, more than 90% of our business operates domestically, with minimal direct impact from the tariff war,” Wing said. “However, our overseas expansion may encounter indirect effects, making it challenging to assess the potential impact on downstream customers.

“As tariffs now extend beyond China to multiple countries, China’s well-established supply chain advantage becomes even more apparent,” added Wing. “Over time, this could encourage customer return. Our group remains vigilant, closely monitoring the evolving situation. Additionally, we are actively exploring international expansion for sales and production, with Southeast Asia as our primary focus.”

While global trade tensions may present challenges for exporters, Yip’s Chemicals remains confident in the sustained growth of the Chinese economy, supported by government policies focusing on stimulating domestic demand and strengthening supply chain stability.

“We expect the overall demand for ink products to continue to grow steadily, and we are committed to leveraging our competitive advantage to further expand our market share in China’s food packaging inks sector,” Wing concluded. “Simultaneously, we will actively develop ink products for niche markets to diversify and enrich our product lines.”

Major Inks Products: Gravure inks, flexographic inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks, digital inks, eco-friendly processing materials for printing, laboratory testing services.

Number of Employees: 669 (inks business) (as of Dec. 31, 2022).

Comments: Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited, through its subsidiary Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited, is the largest domestic ink manufacturer in China. In 2023, Yip’s Chemical reported consolidated sales of US$412.29 million (HKD3.22 billion), with Bauhinia Variegata Ink contributing revenue of US$154.93 million (HKD 1.21 billion).

Landico Wong, investor relations and corporate communications manager at Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited, noted that the company’s performance in 2023 was strong, demonstrating a robust financial position and market leadership in its core segments, including its Inks business. The company maintained a clear strategic focus on strengthening its core businesses while also exploring selective growth opportunities, suggesting a positive outlook for its future performance.

Despite the slowdown in economic growth in Mainland China leading to decreased demand for everyday goods and related inks products, Bauhinia Variegata Ink was able to optimize its customer and product portfolio. This resulted in a significant increase in its gross profit margin and segment profit. Furthermore, Yip’s Chemical benefited from a relatively stable price level of raw materials during 2023, which contributed to the improvement in its gross profit margin.

Landico also highlighted that Yip’s Chemical has been actively exploring strategic investment and acquisition opportunities in niche areas that can complement and augment the company’s core businesses. In January 2024, the company completed the acquisition of a controlling stake in a manufacturer of inks used in printed circuit board production, representing a new growth area for the group.

Alongside its financial performance, Yip’s Chemical has been stepping up its environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts and disclosures to meet the growing expectations of its stakeholders. This will help to maintain the company’s status as a resilient and forward-thinking organization that is well-positioned for future success.

As the top packaging inks producer in China, Bauhinia Variegata Ink believes it is well-positioned to further grow its packaging inks business and venture into new growth initiatives in the inks market to drive future expansion.

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, industrial inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 690 (inks business – as of Dec. 31, 2022)

Comments: The largest domestic ink manufacturer in China, Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited and its subsidiaries had an extraordinary year in 2022, as the group’s profit attributable to owners hit a record high of HK$1.22 billion, mainly due to the disposal of the Group’s 51% effective interests in the solvents business to PAG. However, the overall business environment was extremely challenging.

“Geopolitical turmoil led to a global supply chain imbalance, and the pandemic affected market supply and demand, resulting in adverse effects on the Group’s core businesses in China in terms of costs, sales and operations,” a company spokesperson said. “Excluding the solvents business, the Group’s sales decreased by 16% year-on-year to HK$3.36 billion.”

As impacted by the pandemic, sales revenue of the ink business dropped by 11% year-on-year to HK$1.34 billion, while the gross profit margin only increased by 0.5 percent. The spokesperson noted that Bauhinia Variegata’s efforts in cost reduction delivered little results, especially coupled with the one-off special expenses incurred in relation to the proposed spin-off and separate listing application of Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, leading the inks business to record a substantial decrease in operating results with an operating profit of approximately HK$9.4 million.

Subsequent to discussion by the management of inks business at its year-end meeting, decisions for bold reforms were made. Efforts will be prioritized to improve the quality of the businesses, instead of blindly pursuing revenue growth.

Efforts were also made to achieve substantial reduction in costs, including cutting down the size of the workforce by 15% by the end of 2022, and streamlining and merging compatible business lines as well as various compatible departments. It is believed that such cost reduction measures will significantly alleviate the burden of the inks business.

In addition, efforts will be made to develop promising, environmentally friendly and new types of high-quality ink products. The management holds the view that, although the aforesaid three measures may not generate substantial revenue in 2023, they will certainly bring new momentum to the segment in terms of sustainability, stability and development.

In order to enhance the competitiveness of its downstream products, Yip’s Chemical sold its controlling interest in its solvents business to PAG for RMB 2,295 million (approximately HK$2,688 million or US$340 million) in 2022 and continues to participate in the significant investment in upstream acetate solvents through its remaining 24% equity to create more value for the Group’s business partners and shareholders.

With this strategic partnership, the new associate will build an acetic acid plant with an annual production capacity of 600,000 tons in Hubei, China. It will further strengthen the market-leading position of the solvents associate as it would realize the vertical integration and increase control on the price and supply of raw material (acetic acid).

In important personnel news at Yip’s Chemical, Mr. Yip Tsz Hin (Stephen) stepped down from his role as the chief executive officer and Mr. Ip Kwan (Francis) was re-designated as the chief executive officer (previously the deputy CEO) with effect from Jan. 1, 2023.

In another highlight, Bauhinia Variegata tapped into new service markets by setting up its NAP Testing Technology Service. It envisions becoming a top-notch analytical laboratory and a leader in standards in China which delivers world-class trusted services. It is fully equipped with state-of-the-art lab equipment and experienced technical expertise to ensure meeting international and local regulations. It offers precise and quick testing services for sectors, including consumer goods, food contact material, and material testing and analysis to help clients improve performance and mitigate risks.

There was good news on the raw materials front.

“We observed that the price level of most of the key raw materials have stabilized. In 1Q 2023, the market demand was weaker than expected, so the raw material prices decreased when compared with last year. In addition, exports have fallen sharply. If the trend continues, the raw material prices are expected to drop again,” the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson sees strong opportunities ahead for Yip’s Chemical and its ink business in 2023, led by packaging printing.

“We believe that the overall business environment will improve in 2023 and it is expected to bring new momentum,” the spokesperson noted. “Our inks business is all set to improve the quality of the business, reduce costs, and develop new types of inks to increase competitiveness. We will also actively seek horizontal integration M&A opportunities to diversify our inks portfolio.

“The demand for packaging printing in China is expected to continue to rise at an average annual growth rate of around 4%, driven by China’s economic development and increased demand for consumer goods,” the spokesperson pointed out. “China has become the world’s largest consumer market and producer of packaging products, providing enormous opportunities for the development of the packaging printing industry.

“At the same time, changes in market demand and consumer upgrades are driving the packaging printing industry towards digital production and product differentiation. This requires improvements in equipment production efficiency, performance, and printing quality in multiple aspects to meet market demands.”

“In terms of printing ink types, environmentally friendly ink and green printing have become the main themes,” the spokesperson concluded. “Many countries have already banned the use of harmful printing materials in pharmaceuticals, food, and children’s products packaging, which has made environmentally friendly inks, such as odorless and solvent-free offset gravure inks, water-based inks, UV inks and EB inks, a trend and a necessary requirement for future ink development. This is also a factor that must be considered when entering the international market. The application of these environmentally friendly inks has been widely promoted and has broad prospects for application in the packaging printing industry.”

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 793 (inks business)

Major Products: Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited had an excellent year in 2021, demonstrating resilience amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and global geopolitical challenges.

“2021 is the most unforgettable and challenging year in Yip’s Chemical’s history,” a company spokesperson said. “The macro socio-economic environment was heavily affected by geopolitical tensions and COVID-19. However, the Group managed to achieve a satisfactory full-year performance, with total sales revenue and profit attributable to owners of the Group both registered a record high to HK$17.8 billion (up 65%) and HK$406 million (up 34%) respectively.”

Bauhinia Ink Company Limited, the ink subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited, is the largest domestic producer of inks in China in terms of annual sales volume. The company’s spokesperson noted that it, too, had strong sales growth.

“For the inks business, the overall sales grew by 20% to nearly HK$1.5 billion,” the company’s spokesperson said. “Fortunately, the sales volume and revenue remain relatively steady even during the turbulent times because ink products are closely related to our daily lives and the demands are rather stable.”

Yip’s Chemical’s emphasis on sustainability and the environment led to new developments that position the Group for growth.

“In response to the national energy conservation and emission reduction policies, the technical team of the inks business has actively pursued the R&D of water-based inks and it also recruited talents to improve the sales performance of its water-based inks and other eco-friendly products,” the spokesperson noted. “Bauhinia Ink’s Tongxiang plant in Zhejiang in Mainland China completed the automation of its new production lines and accelerated its digitalization during 2021, which will boost its production capacity to cope with the sales growth.”

While Yip’s ink operations enjoyed strong growth, margins were impacted by the high raw materials costs.

“In 2021, the overall raw material prices of inks increased by 38% year-on-year,” the spokesperson said. “Such a high raw material cost put pressure on our inks business. The cost increases might not be fully passed on to downstream customers and thus our margins were affected. Over the years, we have been expanding our suppliers’ pool and forming strategic partnerships with quality suppliers to ensure a stable and quality raw material supply.

“Since the product price adjustments were not on par with the increase in raw material costs, operating profit slipped by 22% to HK$47 million,” the company spokesperson added. “The Group took a customer-centric approach in discussing the price adjustments and solutions with customers. We still put a strong focus on the domestic market in Mainland China.”

The spokesperson doesn’t expect much improvement in raw materials costs.

“Under the Russo-Ukrainian conflict, we expect commodity and other raw material prices will continue to stay at a high level in 2022, imparting pressure on our gross profit and profitability,” the spokesperson said. “In addition, the central government of PRC adopted strict regulations to contain the pandemic in 1H2022. Some cities were locked down in Mainland China, posing challenges to logistics, but the Group had strived its best to ensure its production capacity to meet market demands.”

Meanwhile, the plan to spin-off Bauhinia Ink remains in the works.

“The application for the spin-off of Bauhinia Ink for a separate listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) is still in progress,” the spokesperson said. “We are preparing to respond to the latest third round of questions raised by the SZSE. The listing time will be determined after the approval of the SZSE and the endorsement of the China Securities Regulatory Commission for registration are obtained.”

Yip’s Chemical and its ink division are cautiously optimistic about the rest of 2022.

“Looking ahead to 2022, it is expected that the central government of PRC will continue to expand and optimize the domestic market to ensure a stable economy throughout the year,” the company’s spokesperson concluded. “With Yip’s Chemical’s core businesses rooted in the domestic Mainland market, they will certainly benefit from the existing national policies. For our inks business, we will focus on developing new environmentally-friendly inks in order to be in line with the global trend of environmental protection, and will advance the separate listing plan of Bauhinia Ink steadily.”

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 800 (ink business)

Comments: Bauhinia Ink Company Limited, the ink manufacturing subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited, is the largest domestic producer of inks in China in terms of annual sales volume in 2019, according to the China Ink Association. The company weathered the COVID-19 pandemic, growing in sales while also developing new products, including environmentally friendly inks.

“Yip’s Chemical navigated through the pandemic quite well,” a company spokesperson reported. “So far, we recorded zero case of infection both in HK and China. Our production and operations resumed orderly and our sales picked up along with the recovery of economic activities in Mainland China since the second half of last year.

“For the Group’s consolidated results, we managed to achieve a growth of 3% in turnover and it reached HK$10.78 billion. Our profit was up 11% year-on-year to reach HK$303 million,” the spokesperson added. “Excluding the one-off items such as the one-off expenses incurred from the proposed spin-off and separate listing of our inks business, our net profit actually increased more than 50%.”

In particular, sales of Bauhinia Ink’s gravure food packaging inks were excellent, as the Chinese domestic market grew strongly. However, sales of the company’s offset printing inks were negatively affected by a drastic reduction in export of printed products to the US and Europe. Under these two factors, the inks business still registered a growth of 0.7% in sales volume, while sales revenue slightly slipped by 3.3% to HK$1.24 billion due to a decline in unit selling price.

“The progress of the IPO project of the inks business is on track,” the company spokesperson noted. “In the fourth quarter of 2020, land acquisition, permit applications and the designs for the testing center and the new plant were all completed. We were notified by the Shenzhen Stock Exchange on February 3, 2021 that the listing application was acknowledged.”

Bauhinia Ink is the only company in the industry to run a testing laboratory accredited by both China National Accreditation Service for Conformity Assessment (CNAS) and China Metrology Accreditation (CMA). With its strategic collaboration with UL of the US, the fifth-largest testing company in the world, it has opened up new business opportunities of corporate testing services in recent years.

“The laboratory testing covers a variety of products, not only raw materials, printing materials and food packaging, which are closely related to Bauhinia Ink’s own businesses, but also electronic products and toys,” the spokesperson said.

Raw materials remain a concern for the ink industry, as the severe impact of the pandemic on the global supply chain resulted in tightened raw materials supply and increased prices. In 2020, Bauhinia Ink closely communicated with suppliers and entered into “pre-contract” agreements to ensure adequate raw materials supply. Such agreements are intended to secure prices and expand inventory while effectively controlling costs.

“The pricing of the major raw materials in ink manufacturing, solvents, has been rising and we could hardly see a downward trend while the pricing of resins greatly hinges on the solvents. Meanwhile, the pricing of pigments is more stable and drops slightly,” the spokesperson reported.

The company spokesperson noted that Yip’s Chemical’s business life is starting to return to normal during 2021. The Group issued a positive profit alert announcement on April 28, 2021.

“Yip’s Chemical is expecting to record an increase in net profit by over 110% for the three months ended March 31, 2021 as compared with that of the six months ended June 30, 2020, while results of the first half of last year were adversely affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and expenses related to the proposed spin-off and separate listing of Bauhinia Ink Company Limited on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange,” the spokesperson observed. “Sales of the inks business returned to a normal level. However, the rising raw material prices caused pressure on the margin side.”

“The operating environment is still ridden with uncertainties and challenges as COVID-19 is still raging around the world and far from being contained,” the spokesperson said. “Yip’s Chemical feels optimistic with the favorable ‘dual circulation’ development approach in Mainland China that is based primarily on the domestic economic cycle to drive the international economic cycle.

“We believe we would be benefitted in view of our established brand in the chemical industry. In 2021, we will focus on boosting quality sales amid the tough environment, and advancing the separate listing of Bauhinia Ink.”

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 799 (ink business)

Comments: The past year was both a challenging as well as an exciting time for Bauhinia Variegata Ink and Chemicals Limited, the ink manufacturing subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited. Bauhinia Variegata Ink is the largest domestic producer of inks in China, and is leading the way in environmentally friendly inks.

Company officials noted that the overall operating environment in 2019 was full of challenges. Nevertheless, the Group managed to pursue quality sales, optimize customer quality and tighten cost control.

“Profitability of our core businesses improved, symbolizing a healthier platform to drive further growth,” a company spokesperson reported. “Our ink business consistently set quality sales as its top priority. It carried out systematic improvements in its customer structure and product lines, which led to a reduction in sales revenue by 9% year-on-year to HK$1.34 billion, while gross profit margin rose by 4 percentage points.

“The operating profit of the ink business increased significantly to HK$93.8 million, representing a year-on-year increase of nearly 1.4 times,” the spokesperson added. “This was mainly due to the proper control of operating costs and the integration of production from three plants to two plants, which resulted in a total reduction of approximately HK$26 million in various expenses.” In order to broaden revenue sources, the company is expanding industrial inks applied to furniture and at home to seize market opportunities.

As Yip’s inks are primarily used in food packaging, the company noted that the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact on its business remains to be seen.

“The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on our ink business is not obvious,” the company spokesperson observed. “It is mainly because the application of our inks is related to daily necessity products, like food and drinks, and the majority of our ink products are sold nationwide in the PRC market.”

The exciting news is that Yip’s is looking to spin off its ink business. The spin-off is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, approval from the Stock Exchange as well as the Group’s shareholders. As of this date, Bauhinia Variegata Zhejiang has not yet submitted any listing application with relevant regulatory authorities in the PRC.

“After years of growth and development, on May 28, 2020, Yip’s Chemical announced a proposed spin-off and separate listing of its ink business operated under Yip’s Ink & Chemicals (Group) Limited, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical and the holding company of Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited (“Bauhinia Variegata Zhejiang”), on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange,” the spokesperson said. “Bauhinia Variegata Zhejiang will become the listing vehicle and the holding company of the Group’s subsidiaries which are engaged in the ink business.

“We believe the proposed spin-off will be beneficial to the Group as a whole because it will provide capital to the ink business to meet its expansion needs; enhance the ink business’ profile amongst its customers, suppliers and other business partners; enable the ink business and the Group to have their own fundraising platforms to access both the debt and equity capital market; and enable investors to value the ink business and other remaining business of the Group on a standalone business, thereby reflecting the true intrinsic value of the respective business.”

Yip’s Chemical will continue to benefit from any potential upside of the ink business upon completion of the spin-off as Bauhinia Variegata Zhejiang will remain a subsidiary of the Group.

“We are the largest ink manufacturer in the PRC and one of the top 20 ink manufacturers internationally by annual sales in 2019,” the company spokesperson noted. “We see it as the right time to spin off the ink business and seek a separate listing on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange to further increase our market share and capitalize on our technical and product strength.

“2020 remains to be a challenging year and yet we are optimistic towards China’s domestic market,” the spokesperson added. “As China is recovering from COVID-19 and stepping up policies and incentives to improve the business climate and boost consumption, it is expected that the domestic demand will rebound gradually in the second half, which is favorable to our ink business.”

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 754 (inks business)

Comments: The leading domestic ink manufacturer in China, Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited had a terrific year in 2018, with sales rising 21% to HK$12.4 billion (US$1.58 billion). On the printing ink side, sales increased 5% to HKD 1.475 billion ($188 million), driven in large part by the company’s continued emphasis on environmentally friendly inks, as well as the slight increase in average selling price. In addition to inks, Yip’s Chemical is a leading manufacturer of solvents, coatings and lubricants.

“Yip’s Chemical is transforming from focusing on asset-based businesses to service-oriented and end-user oriented operations and the Group strives to offer environmentally friendly products and services to enable customers to live a green and sustainable life,” a Yip’s Chemical spokesperson reported. “We will continue to develop environmentally friendly ink products to cater to the market trend.”

The importance of environmentally friendly products in China cannot be overstated, and that includes printing and ink. Yip’s officials are working diligently to meet stricter requirements.

“The major challenge is that our operation is facing more stringent government policies and regulations on environmental protection, especially on the emission of volatile organic compounds (VOC) and product safety,” Yip’s spokesperson said. “We have invested around RMB 38 million to establish a large VOC treatment system in our plants in Zhongshan and Tongxiang, which effectively reduces the emission of VOC to a level that is well below the government-set threshold. Our R&D department is also equipped and has made unfailing efforts in innovating more environmentally friendly and safe products.”

Raw material pricing and availability were a challenge for every ink manufacturer, and Yip’s was no exception.

“Increased raw material prices posed pressure on our gross profit margin,” the spokesperson noted. “Hence, we worked on initiatives to drive down our costs and optimize our operation efficiency, one of which was to merge three production plants into two for better utilization. We keep improving our procurement strategy by identifying and working with quality and sustainable suppliers to expand and stabilize our supplier pool. Our procurement is primarily done locally.”

All in all, Yip’s Chemical sees environmentally friendly inks as critical going forward.

“We will continue to develop environmentally friendly inks to capture the industry trend,” the Yip’s Chemical spokesperson concluded. “We are also enhancing our customer portfolio so as to ensure a healthy cash flow and financial position.”

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 958

Comments: Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited is the parent company of Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited, the leading domestic ink manufacturer in China. In 2017, the company recorded sales of $180 million, a slight decline from 2016.

Yip’s Chemical had an outstanding year, with revenue up 20% in 2017 to HK$10.3 billion (US$1.31 billion).

“According to China Printing Ink Association, the sales volume and revenue of Bauhinia Variegata ranks first in China’s ink industry for nine consecutive years,” a company spokesperson reported.

Bauhinia Variegata mainly focuses on China domestic market, but in 2017, the company made progress in capitalizing the Belt and Road Initiative to tap into the Southeast Asian market, in particular the Vietnamese market.

Bauhinia Variegata Ink places a major emphasis on environmentally friendly products. During the past year, the company introduced its ENVOMARS water-based inks, which is now being used by more than 10 major printers. The printing speed of ENVOMARS reaches 240m/s.

“The current concern in the printing market is the pressure of environmental protection, especially the emission of VOCs,” the spokesperson said. “We launched water-based inks to cater to market development. The promotion of gravure water-based ink has achieved good results. Our water-based gravure printing ink will gain momentum as it has been adopted widely by our customers. We also upgraded our production plant by installing state-of-the-art VOC treatment facility to manage and control the VOCs produced during the production process.”

In addition to inks, Yip’s Chemical is a leading manufacturer of solvents, coatings and lubricants. The company reported that overall, gross profit of coatings, inks and lubricants businesses was under pressure as raw material prices escalated yet profit attributable to owners was still up at HK$171 million.

“The rise in raw material prices has created pressure on our gross margin,” the Bauhinia Variegata spokesperson added. “Riding on our long-term and well-established relationship with our suppliers, we are able to ensure a secure source of raw materials. On one hand, we tried to pass on the rising costs to our customers. On another hand, we structurally improved our cost structure and enhanced our operations through working hand in hand with an external consultant to review various processes along our value chain and identify areas for improvement (ACT project).”

Bauhinia Variegata has been adhering to a sustainable business model, promoting the use of environmentally friendly products including water-based gravure printing ink, low-VOC offset printing ink, and two-component glass screen printing ink during the past year.

“These products receive satisfactory feedback from users, which is a strong testimony to our efforts in promoting green development of the ink industry,” the spokesperson observed. “A unique process is applied to our water-based gravure printing ink so that the ink solid content increased by 30% and the viscosity of the ink was effectively reduced. This product can be used for the packaging of light and boiled food and steamed food. It is suitable for PET, NY, BOPP, PVDC and so on. In the future,

Bauhinia Variegata will continue to vigorously promote water-based gravure printing ink, develop more high-speed, more environmentally friendly, lower-odor products, so as to capture the market opportunities and speed up the transformation of the ink industry.”

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives, dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 1,000

Comments: Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited is the leading domestic ink manufacturer in China, with US$205 million in printing ink sales in 2016, a 6% increase over 2015. Bauhinia Variegata Ink is a subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical, Overall, Yip’s Chemical reported 2016 sales of HK$8.556 billion (US$1.1 billion).

Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals is highly regarded for its dedication to environmentally friendly products, and among its innovative new products, launched a new water-based gravure lamination ink this year.

“Our R&D center consistently strengthens product development and improvement, as well as ‘green’ inks. Our company developed safe ‘green’ products, such as water-based gravure lamination ink,” a company spokesperson said. “For screenprinting ink, all product series control organic tin, partial product series control halogen-free, and multiple product series strictly comply with PAHs.

“Our ‘green’ product water-based gravure lamination ink had a significant breakthrough, and already is in market and receiving excellent feedback from many users,” the spokesperson added.

A leader in offset inks, gravure flexible packaging inks for food and drinks, screen inks and UV inks, Bauhinia Variegata Ink is the largest ink manufacturer in China. The company has three production plants: Zhongshan, Guangdong; Tungxiang, Zhejiang and Cangzhou, Hebei, with inks manufactured and marketed in southern, eastern and northern China, respectively. The ink production plant in eastern China will be undergoing technological enhancement in order to expand ink production capacity. The company is also looking to expand globally.

“We have three production bases in southern, eastern and northern China to produce products, meet different customers from region to region, and also can provide products and services promptly,” the spokesperson reported. “We are fully prepared for developing Southeast Asia and other regions.”

Bauhinia Variegata’s emphasis on the environment is key to its success.

“In China, the government pays more attention to protect our living environment, meaning that environmentally friendly products are the trend,” said the spokesperson. “We are the leading ink company in China, persisting in producing environmentally safe printing ink, such as water-based gravure lamination ink, UV ink, non-VOC ink. It can always be successful if following market demand. By persisting in R&D of safe ‘green’ inks and providing good products and services, sales turnover of Bauhinia Variegata will be increased in the coming year.”

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 1,000

Comments: A subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical, Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited is the leading domestic ink manufacture in China, with US$192 million in ink sales in 2015. Overall, Yip’s Chemical reported 2015 sales of HK$8.6 billion (US$1.1 billion).

Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) specializes in offset inks, gravure flexible packaging inks for food and drinks, screen inks and UV inks. Bauhinia Variegata Ink is the largest ink manufacturer in China, with a reported annual production capacity of 95,000 metric tons.

The demand for environmentally friendly ink products has been increasing, and Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals Limited has developed different kinds of “green” products, for example water-based gravure lamination ink, UV ink and NON-VOC ink, to adapt to the market.

“Our R&D center consistently strengthens product development and improvement,” a company spokesperson said. “In adjusting to the environmental conscience trend, alcohol soluble and water–based inks will be introduced to capture the market.”

More favorable raw material prices benefited Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals Limited last year.

“Raw material prices declined last year and the company seized the opportunity to reduce costs,” the company spokesperson noted.

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing; adhesives; dampening alcohol solution; cleanser.

Number of Employees: 1,000

Comments: Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) Limited, a subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical, is the leading domestic ink manufacturer in China.

Yip’s Chemical reported 2014 sales of HK$10.26 billion, an increase of 4% and a record high. Bauhinia Variegata’s sales were $207 million in 2014, which was similar to its totals in 2013.

As a result of lower raw material prices, the company was able to lower its costs. “The raw material prices declined last year and the company seized the opportunity to reduce costs,” noted a company executive.

Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals (Zhejiang) specializes in offset inks, gravure flexible packaging inks for food and drinks, screen inks and UV inks. The company notes that R&D of every new product is based on protecting the environment. Its R&D team is noted for successfully developing new products, and added a water-based gravure lamination printing ink, among others, this past year.

“Our R&D center consistently strengthens product development and improvement,” the executive noted. “The demand for environmentally-friendly ink products has been increasing and the company has developed different kinds of ‘green’ products, for example water-based gravure lamination ink, to adapt to the market.”

Yip’s Chemical is the world’s largest manufacturer of acetate solvents and one of China’s largest suppliers of petrochemical products. In an important move, the company acquired Huacai Resins’ plant at the end of 2013.

Bauhinia Variegata Ink ranks first in China with annual production capacity of 95,000 metric tons and sales within China’s ink industry. The company has three production plants: Zhongshan, Guangdong; Tungxiang, Zhejiang; and Cangzhou, Hebei; with its inks manufactured and marketed in southern, eastern and northern China, respectively.

Bauhinia Variegata Inks has earned an excellent international reputation, receiving “Guangdong Famous Trademark” in 2005 and “China Famous Trademark” by the Trademark Office of The State Administration For Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in 2010.

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing.

Number of Employees: 1,122.

Comments: Bauhinia Variegata Ink and Chemicals Limited is a subsidiary of Yip’s Chemical, the world’s largest manufacturer of acetate solvents and one of China’s largest suppliers of petrochemical products. Yip’s Chemical enjoyed tremendous growth in 2013, with sales increasing 11% to HKD9.99 billion ($1.275 billion).

As impressive as that growth is, Bauhinia Variegata Ink and Chemicals Limited surpassed it, growing 19% to HKD1,669,982,000 ($215 million). Bauhinia Variegata Inks specializes in offset inks, UV offset inks, gravure inks and screen printing inks, and enjoys an excellent reputation in the international market. In 2005, it was named as “Guangdong Famous Trademark,” and was also granted “China Famous Trademark” by the Trademark Office of The State Administration For Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in 2010.

The company has three production plants: Zhongshan, Guangdong; Tungxiang, Zhejiang and Cangzhou, Hebei, with its inks manufactured and marketed in southern, eastern and northern China, respectively. Bauhinia Variegata Ink ranks first in China with annual production capacity of 95,000 metric tons and sales within China’s ink industry. The company is seeing stronger growth in the packaging side of the printing business.

“Offset printing’s market share is gradually reducing, but gravure is on the rise,“ said a Bauhinia spokesperson. “Our company’s main product is flexible packaging inks for food and drinks, so we match this printing market situation. This is a good opportunity for us.” The company is expected to add capacity on the packaging ink side.

In terms of raw materials, the Bauhinia spokesperson noted that recently, material prices have been declining. “It drives costs down,” the spokesperson added. “We’ll continue to keep our strength of high quality and low price.”

R&D is an important aspect for Bauhinia Variegata Ink, as it received the Advanced Innovation Company Award. The company has a strong commitment to environmentally friendly ink systems, and prides itself on adhering to the “sustainable development route,” such as rational uses of social resources.

The company notes that R&D of every new product is based on protecting the environment. This includes developing high speed and functional benzene- and ketone-free gravure ink products, soybean oil-based lithographic printing ink and high quality screen glass printing ink.

Bauhinia Variegata Ink’s newest inks show this dedication to the environment. Most recently, the company launched its GDZ All-Weather Benzene-Free Gravure Surface Printing Ink and its Non-VOC Vegetable Oil Offset Printing Ink.

Major Products: Gravure inks, offset printing inks, screen printing inks, UV inks and environmentally-friendly inks used mainly in food and medicine packaging, tobacco packaging, offset and transfer printing.

Number of Employees: 1,122

Comments: Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals, a wholly owned subsidiary company of Yip’s Chemical Holdings, enjoyed a strong 2012, achieving 14% growth in sales in spite of the challenging economic and raw material situations. Bauhinia Variegata Ink ranks first in production capacity with an annual production capacity of 95,000 metric tons, and sales within China’s ink industry.

“In 2012, the overall market was in the doldrums,“ said a Bauhinia spokesperson. “Prices of raw materials and human resources costs increased, but our company’s operating costs improved. In order to effectively cope with the fierce market competition, our company adjusted our product structure and optimized the organization, which allowed us to broaden our sources of income, reduce expenditures and achieve profitable double-digit growth for four consecutive years, making us the sales volume champion.”

The company currently has three production plants: Zhongshan, Guangdong; Tungxiang, Zhejiang and Cangzhou, Hebei, with its inks manufactured and marketed in southern, eastern and northern China, respectively.

Bauhinia Variegata Inks specializes in offset printing inks, UV offset inks, gravure inks and screen printing inks, and enjoys an excellent reputation in the international market. In 2005, it was named as “Guangdong Famous Trademark,” and was also granted “China Famous Trademark” by the Trademark Office of The State Administration For Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in 2010.

In order to improve the group’s market competitiveness, Yip’s Chemical Holdings Limited restructured the company between businesses in 2012. Among them, the paper products business of Hang Cheung Petrochemical Ltd. was integrated into Bauhinia’s business.

“It will be enrich our product system and expand the finishing area,” said a Bauhinia spokesperson.

Company officials noted that in 2012, the development of high speed digital printing, combined with the slowdown of traditional printing, led to a trend toward survival of the fittest in terms of ink companies.

Printing inks for traditional printing are also undergoing changes, with demand increasing for products suitable for short runs, as well as environmentally friendly printing inks.

To meet the needs of customers, Bauhinia Variegata Ink uses strict quality controls of QC080000 and effective uses of resources such as the CNAS National Laboratory, thus providing rapid responses to market demand and meeting its mission “to improve continuously, ensure stable product quality, provide satisfying products and services to customers, and grow together with them.”

“We have always advocated ‘Quality and Service,’ and we always adhere to our business philosophy,” said a Bauhinia spokesperson. “Technology innovation is the powerful weapon to face these challenges, and intimate service is the most effective way for our customers.”

Bauhinia Variegata Ink has a strong commitment to environmentally friendly inks, and always adheres to the “sustainable development route,” rational uses of social resources. Research and development of every new product is based on protecting the environment, such as high speed and functional benzene and ketone-free gravure ink products, soybean oil-based lithographic printing ink and high quality screen glass printing ink.

Major Products: Gravure, offset and screen printing ink.

Number of Employees: 974

Comments: Established in 1998, Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals, a wholly owned subsidiary company of Yip’s Chemical Holdings, has three production bases in Southern, Eastern and Northern China respectively. In 2011, the company’s ink sales achieved 44,348 tons and its annual turnover reached more than RMB1.2 billion ($190 million). Net turnover of Yip’s Chemical increased substantially to HK$8.276 billion ($1.07 billion), an increase of 18% over 2010.

Having total production capacity of 75,000 tons, the company ranks first in the ink industry in China. Bauhinia Variegata Ink is currently enlarging its capacity, and it is estimated that the total capacity will exceed 100,000 tons by the end of 2011.

A specialist in the development of offset printing inks, gravure inks and screen printing inks, Bauhinia Variegata Inks enjoys an excellent reputation and support from the international market. In 2005, it was named as “Guangdong Famous Trademark,” and was also granted “China Famous Trademark” by the Trademark Office of The State Administration For Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in 2010.

To further broaden its ink portfolio, development of offset printing inks began in 2006. Many new types of offset inks have since been developed. In May 2008, Bauhinia Variegata’s soybean oil-based offset printing inks successfully acquired the permission to use the Soy seal trademark of the American Soybean Association (ASA).

Bauhinia Variegata Ink and Chemicals Limited has a strong R&D department, with an eye on environmentally friendly products such as aromatic-free and ketone-free inks, soy inks, alcohol-based inks and water-based inks, and launched a wide variety of inks during the past year. On the gravure side, the company introduced the GSA7 ester-soluble lamination ink series, GAL gravure aluminum ink, GTA environmental protection transfer ink, GTB general transfer ink, GTK buckle edition transfer ink and GMK milk film ink.

In particular, the GSA7 ester-soluble lamination ink is a new generation of the ester-soluble environmental general lamination ink. It has gained wide acceptance once launched on the market; in 2011, the sales volume of GSA7 was nearly 8000 tons.

For the offset market, Bauhinia Variegata Ink introduced its FD1 low halogen soybean oil ink series, FT fast-cure and high gloss non-skin ink. In the screen market, the company launched the PA series PVC connector ink, SUB series nylon ink, SPPC series bottle ink, DBL series single set of glass ink, and AC700 series strengthened organic glass ink.

Major Products: Gravure, offset and screen printing ink.

Number of Employees: 974

Comments: Bauhinia Variegata Ink & Chemicals, a wholly-owned subsidiary company of Yip’s Chemical Holdings, was established in 1998 and has three production bases in Southern, Eastern and Northern China, respectively. In 2010, the company’s ink sales achieved 43,500 tons and its annual turnover reached more than RMB1.065 billion.

Having total production capacity of 70,000 tons, the company ranks first in the ink industry in China. Bauhinia Variegata Ink is currently enlarging its capacity, and it is estimated that the total capacity will exceed 86,000 tons by the end of 2011.

A specialist in the development of plastic printing inks, gravure inks and screen printing inks, Bauhinia Variegata Inks enjoys an excellent reputation and support from the international market. In 2005, it was named as “Guangdong Famous Trademark,” and was also granted “China Famous Trademark” by the Trademark Office of The State Administration For Industry and Commerce of the People’s Republic of China in 2010.

Keeping pace with the global environmental trends, the ink business employs aromatic-free workshops and fully piped transmission systems to ensure the production is in line with international standards. The plastic inks of Bauhinia Variegata passed the authentication of the American Soybean Association and has been recognized as “A-Class Supplier.”

To further broaden the inks business profile, development of offset printing inks commenced in 2006, and is expected to provide the Group’s inks business with further impetus for growth in the years ahead.