Xiangzhou District, Zhuhai

Of 21 Zhuhai companies listed in the Chinese mainland's A-share market, 19 or more grew their revenue last year, including 10 with staggering increases of more than 30 percent.

Zhuhai Daily released a ranking of A-share listed companies by revenue growth rate on March 13, excluding some having not yet published their financial reports.

Ninestar Corporation, a global printing and imaging product leader, topped the 10-member list as its income rocketed 270.9 percent to 21.5 billion yuan ($3.4 billion) in 2017. The strong performance resulted from sizeable domestic and transnational mergers and acquisitions last year.

Ninestar's ambitious acquisition of Lexmark International Inc, a renowned global laser printer manufacturer headquartered in Kentucky, the United States, is also bearing fruit. The largest acquisition to date in the global printer industry is led by a consortium of investors at a total cost of $3.6 billion.

Local real estate giant Guangdong Shirong Zhaoye came in second and Zhuhai Sailong Pharmaceutical ranked third with revenue of 3.1 billion yuan ($490), up 116 percent, and 300 million yuan ($47 million), up 43 percent.

Guangdong By-health Biotechnology, one of China's largest suppliers of vitamins and health supplements, got its fair share of benefits through e-commerce. Last year, the enterprise launched an exclusive online supply channel and greatly bolstered sales in the fourth quarter. The glucosamine products it recently developed have proved to be a big hit, with sales increasing 160 percent in 2017. Enhanced marketing, publicity, technological updates, and R&D capacity also contributed to the overall growth in the company's revenue.

Not all technology firms, however, rode the wave; some experienced declining sales due to intense competition.

Researchers examine product samples at Zhuhai Orbita Control Engineering's laboratory. [Photo courtesy southcn.com]