Dated: 27 November 2009
A group of some 30 Singapore digital media companies today wrapped up their five-day business mission trip to China with a slate of business deals with their Chinese counterparts.
These deals cover the launch of a Chinese version of a popular Made-in-Singapore social networking game;a cross-border venture development and incubation effort for new media companies;the digitisation of Chinese television content by a Singapore service provider;a joint collaboration in the psychological analysis technologies on the internet, mobile and social networking sites;and, the commercialisation of a word-of-mouth media channel in China based on a digital technology application developed in Singapore. For more details on these announcements, please see Annex A.
The business mission, which covered the Chinese cities of Beijing, Shanghai and Shaanxi over 23 to 27 November, was organised by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA), as part of its ongoing efforts to help Singapore’s media companies gain access to the global market. The programme included visits to major Chinese digital media companies and research centres, as well as networking events and pitching sessions.
“As China’s media industry makes tremendous strides and Singapore ramps up the development of its media sector, we believe there are many opportunities for media enterprises from both countries to work together –be it in business development or product innovation. China offers immense market potential and talent;in return, Singapore offers our global connectivity to partner Chinese media enterprises that plan to expand their international operations,” said Dr Tan Chin Nam, Chairman, MDA.
“From the current business mission, we are happy to see more China and Singapore media enterprises jointly charting new territory in the digital media space. Clearly, in this dynamic digital media space, there remain unlimited possibilities for both China and Singapore companies to gain new ground with their products and services through mutually beneficial partnerships,” added Dr Tan. Besides the new partnerships announced during this business mission, other Singapore digital media companies have extended their reach into China. For example, Mozat and Personal e-Motion have launched their innovations into the country.
Likewise, Chinese digital media companies have ventured into Singapore, with some leveraging on Singapore as a springboard for their global expansion. For example, Beijing Crystal Digital Technology, who was the exclusive developer for World Olympics Games 2008 Beijing, set up its first overseas subsidiary Crystal Computer Graphics in Singapore in 2001. Crystal Computer Graphics has since leveraged Singapore as a hub to handle its Southeast Asia projects, as well as reach into Middle East and India.
There are also regular digital media exchanges on the government-level. With funding from the National Research Foundation under the multi-agency Interactive Digital Media Research &Development Programme Office, MDA and the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Automation joined forces to set up the China-Singapore Institute of Digital Media, which currently has one laboratory each in Singapore and China. In March 2008, Singapore’s Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts signed a memorandum of understanding with China’s Ministry of Science and Technology, covering bilateral collaboration in the fields of interactive digital media research &development, training, information exchange and joint marketing. Under this MoU, MDA partnered with the Science &Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality to develop and link digital media test-beds in their respective cities.
About the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA)
Formed in 2003, the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA) plays a vital role in transforming Singapore into a Trusted Global Capital for New Asia Media. MDA spearheads initiatives that promote industry growth in film, television, radio, publishing, music, games, animation and Interactive Digital Media. At the same time, in ensuring clear and consistent regulatory policies and guidelines, MDA helps to foster a pro-business environment for industry players and increase media choices for consumers. For more information, visit www.mda.gov.sg and www.smf.sg.
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