Shaanxi TV and film groups seek investment deals, partnerships
Updated: 2017-11-16 06:20
(HK Edition)
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Shenzhen, Hong Kong, Macao business promotion week set to meet funding needs, Wang Xin reports.
Liu Bing, general manager of Shaanxi Broadcasting and Television Group, said he eagerly anticipates a "fruitful journey" to Shenzhen in Guangdong province, Hong Kong and Macao this week, as he participates in the ongoing business promotional event.
The Shaanxi provincial government initiated the annual weeklong event to increase economic exchanges with the three advanced coastal economies. This year, one of the highlights is the cultural industry, organizers said.
Liu, as a key delegate from the sector, told China Daily that his company expects to sign at least three deals with investors during the business promotional week.
One relates to smart cities and the internet of things, which will use big data and cloud-computing technologies. The project will explore a new business model to provide comprehensive services, ranging from entertainment, smart home and city administration to healthcare and eldercare.
The services are tailor-made for specific needs and personal preferences and will be facilitated via various electronic terminals, such as TVs, smartphones and tablets, Liu said.
The general manager said his company has a widespread broadcasting and television network, linking millions of households, which can serve as an ideal channel for the project.
With an initial investment of 100 million yuan ($15 million), the project has kicked off, using Beilin district in Xi'an, capital of Shaanxi province, as a pilot area.
When fully established, the project's operation model can be replicated across the country, which will require tens of billions of yuan in investment, Liu said.
Another of Shaanxi Broadcasting and Television Group's projects involves a creative industry-themed town featuring big data and cloud-computing technologies in Fengxi New City, a satellite city under the administration of Xi'an.
"We are planning a variety of zones for television and film studios, entrepreneurship and innovation, virtual reality technology experience, a 1960s time-travel exhibition, and other themed areas," Liu said.
The themed town will become an exemplar of the sharing economy, he noted.
It is designed to provide a utopian society for budding entrepreneurs, he said. "Everything will be in place, including infrastructure, capital, industrial chains and other production elements."
Talks with the local government are ongoing, as the town needs an area of 667 hectares, according to the company's plan, he added.
Trends shift
As the broadcasting and television industry is facing growing competition from overseas, it is seeking to transform and upgrade. So, the Xi'an-headquartered group is looking to develop diverse businesses that involve information technology-based projects.
The industry has shifted from focusing on content production to developing cultural parks as an urban tourist destination, and will then look to the sharing economy, which features the combination of new technologies, business models and high-value copyrighted products, Liu said.
"With the spreading use of high-technologies, changes are taking place in both production and consumption across the industry, requiring innovation in copyrighted products and business models," he said.
"This is a window of opportunity. We are moving ahead to adapt to the digital technology era," he said. "Otherwise, we would become outdated."
A State-owned enterprise, Shaanxi Broadcasting and Television Group was created with an extensive broadcasting network, which can be used as a platform for entertainment and other digital products.
Liu said the central government's Internet Plus strategy does not refer to a simple connection with online businesses, but emphasizes "internet thinking", which in essence features opening-up and the sharing economy.
Although the company's collaboration with its peers in Hong Kong and Macao is well-established in terms of producing TV content and cast exchanges, their investments in the Shaanxi group's projects have yet to increase, Liu said.
"I believe more and more investors from outside Shaanxi will show interest in our cultural projects, with the market becoming increasingly open and with the growing use of new technologies and business models," he said.
Western Movie Group
Another veteran in Shaanxi's creative industry, Western Movie Group, will also participate in Business Promotional Week and is seeking investment in its new production Helping Hands Club, which is based on a true story.
Set against the backdrop of China's reforms and opening-up over the past decades, the movie will depict a group of Chinese returning from overseas who are devoted to targeted poverty relief efforts, starting up their own business in Shaanxi and lending rural residents near Qinling Mountains a helping hand.
Despite difficulties and challenges, the startup team, who has overseas educational and working backgrounds, manages to lift those in need out of poverty, which, in turn, enables them to heal their psychological wounds and provides them with a sense of purpose.
An initial investment of tens of millions of yuan is set to be signed during the business promotional week, and the movie is still open to more investment, Western Movie Group said.
Currently, the screenplay is still being crafted and improved, according to the company.
Yu Menghong, assistant president of the movie group and general manager of Xi'an Film Studio, said that with its tradition of focusing on reality and working on the front lines, Western Movie Group highly values film creation, aiming to contribute to Shaanxi's poverty alleviation work.
The Xi'an-headquartered movie group is internationally acclaimed for its award-winning productions, including Old Well, starring Zhang Yimou and Liang Yujin, and Red Sorghum, one of actor-turned-director Zhang's best-known creations.
Since its founding in 1958, the company has won more than 70 international awards and approximately 300 in China.
Its business portfolio has extended from creative plans, script evaluation and movie investment, to publicity and distribution, derivative products development, the cinema chain and tourism parks.
The company's new industrial park, called the Film Zone | Xi'an Film Studio Industry Park, is scheduled to open in August 2018, when the movie production group will celebrate its 60th anniversary.
The park will showcase the company's movie productions and feature well-preserved Suzhou-style buildings, according to the company.
Western Movie Group will create more films related to the Silk Road, in a bid to increase exchanges with filmmakers from the countries and regions involved in the Belt and Road Initiative and promote China-made movies going global, Yu said.
Rich resources
A key point on the ancient trade route, Shaanxi plays an active role in advancing the Belt and Road Initiative, which was proposed by China in 2013 to increase international cooperation via the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road.
Xi'an served as the country's capital in ancient times for more than 10 dynasties, with the earliest dating back to the Western Zhou Dynasty (c. 11th century-771 BC). Thus it boasts a wealth of cultural heritage that can be tapped to develop the creative cultural industry.
Shaanxi is also home to a group of top universities and colleges, providing a pool of human resources.
All these factors are conducive to creating cultural industrial projects and have become a magnet for investors seeking business opportunities, which dovetail with local businesses' desire for capital and management expertise, Liu said.
Contact the writer at wangxin@chinadaily.com.cn
(HK Edition 11/16/2017 page20)