China builds financing system for cultural industry

Memorandum signed

Published on 12 March 2012

Author(s): People's Daily/Li Fang

Type:  News

China Development Bank (CDB) signed a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Culture (MOC) on March 8 to promote the development of the country's cultural industry.

The signing of the memorandum shows the smooth operation of a cooperation mechanism between the MOC and domestic banks, establishment of a preliminary cultural industry investment and financing system, which eases funding bottlenecks to the country's cultural development.

Under the memorandum, the two sides will clearly define key areas of cooperation, cultivate backbone cultural enterprises, and foster a number of cultural enterprises and groups with independent intellectual property rights, famous brands, and considerable international competitiveness, in order to double the output value of the cultural industry by 2015.

They will also work together to promote the development of quality cultural enterprises and projects, including state-level cultural industry bases, conduct research on the cultural industry, and explore innovations in the cultural industry investment and financing system.

In recent years, the MOC has signed cooperation agreements with CDB, the Export-Import Bank of China, and other banks, which have provided comprehensive financial support to domestic cultural enterprises and projects.

As of the end of 2011, 68 major cultural projects in the country had obtained nearly 18.9 billion yuan of bank loans, and the outstanding balance of the Chinese cultural industry's yuan- and foreign currency-denominated loans reached 86.1 billion yuan.

Cultural industry investment funds made up of different types of social capital have sprung up in China as indirect financing for the cultural sector develops quickly. At present, there are 111 cultural industry investment funds in the country with a combined size of more than 133 billion yuan, of which, 47 funds, or more than 42 percent, were established in the first 11 months of 2011. The 47 funds total more than 55.4 billion yuan, accounting for nearly 41 percent of the combined size of all such funds in the country.

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