Hong Kong media firm Tom Group Ltd. said it has agreed to form a joint venture with the Chongqing-based publisher of a major Chinese computer magazine, in its second foray into mainland China's print media market.

Tom Group will pay 209.5 million yuan for a 49% stake in the joint venture. The remaining 51% will be held by Popular Computer Week Publishing House and its advertising arm, China Science Media. The joint venture will manage advertising and distribution for Popular Computer Week, a 104-page industry paper with a circulation of 600,000, and associated books and other publications. Tom said the weekly has the largest circulation of any information-technology related newspaper in China.

Foreign investment in China's state-controlled publishing sector is tightly restricted, though recent reforms have allowed some outside financing as long as editorial control remains in Chinese hands.