BEIJING - China's General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) announced Tuesday that 147 state-run publishing houses have been corporatized to become self-financing enterprises.

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The reform to convert 148 publishing houses into market players has come to an end, with one closed down and 147 corporatized, according to Liu Binjie, head of the GAPP.

"The smooth transition was due to the cooperation among ministries and agencies and the publishers' positive attitudes," said Liu.

The publishers were previously affiliated to various central government ministries and commissions and the reform was completed by December 30, 2010.

According to the GAPP, the new publishers will enjoy tax breaks and other preferential policies.

The new publishers will create six or seven giant publishing groups devoted to areas such as education, science and technology, economics and health care.