Next target is to cut costs, make machines locally

Experts have said the development of homegrown world-class ballpoint pen heads would cut the cost of making the tips by roughly 50 percent.

Kui Weiliang, deputy director of the China Ningbo Stationery Association in Ningbo, East China's Zhejiang province, home to one of the leading Chinese stationery enterprises, Beifa Group, said: "The average cost of producing a ballpoint pen is about 0.5 yuan (7 cents). The head costs more than 0.1 yuan, which could be decreased to a maximum 0.04-0.05 yuan when the homemade stainless steel replaces imported ones. When it (special steel) gets mass produced, customers could buy good-quality ballpens at a lower price."

However, Zhao Dongmin, who has run the M&G Chenguang Stationery store in Chaoyang district, Beijing, for about five years, said the price of ballpoint pens would not be affected.