2 March 2006 - Speech By Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore At MOI Signing Ceremony with Mediacorp Technologies and China Film Digital, Eng Wah Cineplex, Suntec Tower Three.
Speech By Mr Chan Yeng Kit, Chief Executive Officer, Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore At MOI Signing Ceremony with Mediacorp Technologies and China Film Digital on 2 March 2006, Eng Wah Cineplex, Suntec Tower Three.
Mr Lucas Chow, Mediacorp Group,
Mr Henry Lim, Mediacorp Group,
Mr Jiang De Fu, China Film Digital,
Mr Mock Pak Lum, MediaCorp Technologies,
Distinguished Guests,
Members of the media,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Introduction
1. Good morning. Singapore and China share many similarities in our goals in using information and communications technology to spur economic growth.
2. I am delighted to announce today that Singapore and China are yet again forging ahead together, this time collaborating to develop a digital distribution model for the distribution of Chinese content to Singapore and other potential Asian markets.
China's Digital Cinema Industry - A Wealth of Content and Opportunity
3. As we are all aware, China's progress in the digitisation of its movie industry has been very aggressive and impressive. In just a short couple of years, China now leads the way in digital cinema deployment with 180 digital cinemas deployed across China. Of this, 25 are 2K resolution equipment, one of the highest in Asia.
4. To bring more digital content to the masses, China is not only increasing the number of productions each year but also digitising their library comprising a hundred years of movies. A total of 260 feature films were produced last year, 20% more than the year before. About 150 movies have been digitised to date.
Unfolding the opportunities for the mutual benefit of Singapore's and China's digital cinema industry
5. This is good news for Singapore's infocomm and digital media industry, as it opens the doors to the management, processing and distribution of digital content from China, through Singapore to Asia. The numbers may be modest today, but the potential is tremendous, especially for such a nascent industry.
6. As the collaboration takes shape and grow, so will the business potential and benefits to the industry and consumers.
7. In short, Digital Cinema transformation probably the most significant technological advancement in the cinema industry since the advent of digital sound. It opens up many new possibilities -greater variety of content, lower cost of distribution and better picture quality. In turn, it also opens doors to greater business opportunities for Singapore's digital media and entertainment industry, especially in areas such as post-production and infrastructural support.
China chooses Singapore to distribute her digital content to the rest of Asia and beyond
8. IDA has been actively developing Singapore as a digital distribution hub. Singapore is well-placed to be a strategic partner to China, especially in helping to digitally manage and deliver content to Southeast Asia and other parts of the world.
9. Singapore possesses extensive connectivity and reach to many countries such as USA and countries in ASEAN. We have more than 27 terabits per second of high-speed submarine capacity and international telecoms connectivity to over 100 countries. We are also equipped with over 1 million square feet of advanced data centre space. Together with our strong IP protection regime, Singapore is a well-suited destination for digital delivery.
10. Little wonder then that Singapore is a broadcasting hub, home to 17 international cable and satellite broadcasters, including ESPN, HBO, MTV, Disney and Discovery. In the digital media ecosystem, Singapore plays host to leading international players in the digital revolution today, like Lucasfilm, Electronic Arts, Real Networks, Boonty and Vivendi.Conclusion
11. With China and Singapore bringing together their strengths and knowledge in digital cinema distribution to this collaboration, we look forward to advancing further in this space together and lead the way for the region (if not the world).
12. On this note, I wish MediaCorp Technologies and China Film Digital every success in cementing their collaboration in digital content distribution.
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