www.chinaview.cn
Sep 02,2009
China plans to encourage state-owned culture industry heavyweights to go public as part of its reforms for the culture sector, said Wednesday's China Daily.
The state-owned China Film Group Corp (CFGC), Shanghai Film Group Corp., and some other industry heavyweights are vying with each other to be the first listed company, the newspaper said, citing a top official from the culture department.
Though the plan has been in the offing for several months now, it got delayed due to the global financial crisis.
The CFGC plan to set up a joint-stock company in October and is looking at getting listed in the first half of 2010, said the newspaper, citing Jiang Tao, chief financial officer with CFGC.
Beijing Poly-bona Film Publishing Co., which finished its second-round of financing in June by raising 100 million yuan (14.64 million U.S. dollars), intends to go public in the U.S. in 2011.
Huayi Brothers, China's leading privately owned media company, is also exploring listing options, according to its deputy president Hu Ming.
During the first half of the year, the country's box-office receipts amounted to 2.5 billion yuan. Industry insiders said China's booming movie industry has now begun to enter the so-called "golden decade".