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SPEECH BY DR LEE BOON YANG,MINISTER
FOR INFORMATION, COMMUNICATIONS AND THE ARTS, AT THE OPENING
CEREMONY OF THE ASIA MEDIA FESTIVAL 2006 ANCHOR TRADE EVENTS, 29
NOVEMBER 2006, 10.00 AM AT SHANGRI-LA HOTEL
Your Excellencies,
Mr Ed Ng, President,
Singapore-Malaysia, Reed Exhibitions,
Ladies and
gentlemen,
Good
morning. I am very pleased to be here at the official opening of
this year¡¯s Asia Media Festival (AMF). Let me also extend a warm
welcome to all participants. To those who had travelled from afar
to join us, I hope that you will not only enjoy the AMF activities
but also experience the fun that Singapore can offer to all
visitors.
2 The AMF
is one of the key events under the Creative 2006, a month long
showcase to celebrate and promote Singapore¡¯s creative industries.
Global Media City
3 This is
the fifth year that the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA)
and Reeds are staging the AMF. The AMF has certainly grown from
strength to strength since its inception. The number of trade
participants has doubled and deals conducted have increased almost
six-fold. From US$6.3 million in 2002, the Festival has grown to
achieve sales worth US$33 million in 2005.
4 This
year, AMF has grown even bigger, featuring 44 trade and consumer
events, up from 28 last year. We welcome representatives from over
40 countries. Five of the world¡¯s major international studios and
production companies are also here. This strong international
presence indicates that the Festival has been accepted as a useful
and relevant media marketplace for global players.
5 The AMF
is also a platform for us to celebrate the best in Asian television.
This year, the annual Asian Television Awards will celebrate quality
productions from around the region and recognise the best in Asian
productions with awards for 33 categories. For first-time Asian
producers, directors, writers, cinematographers, actors and
documentary makers, the Asian Festival of First Films is an
excellent opportunity to premiere their new creations. This Festival
was introduced last year for media professionals to gain recognition
from a star-studded international jury and market their creations to
international buyers at the concurrent Asia Film Market and
Conference (AFMC). I am pleased to note that there is a 40%
increase in the submissions this year, indicating the growing
importance and value placed in a film festival which has just turned
one year old.
Key Developments
in the Singapore Media Industry
International Collaborations
6 2006 has
been a good year for the Singapore media industry. Let me highlight
four significant developments achieved by the industry. Firstly,
Singapore-made content is rapidly gaining international recognition
as we seal more collaborations and co-production deals. These deals
reflect growing awareness of our capabilities and the readiness of
international producers to work with our media houses to create high
quality ¡°exportable¡± media content.
7 You will
be among the first to catch the trailer for a new anime ¡°Justeen¡±
that is making its premiere at the AMF. This is a joint production
by Singapore¡¯s Nanyang Technological University (NTU) and Japanese
company Anime International Company Inc (AIC). The anime is produced
using a new software developed by NTU. This innovative and powerful
software could well change the landscape of animation production.
Another exciting development is a collaboration between Media
Entertainment (Singapore) and Korea¡¯s CJ Entertainment to distribute
the ¡°True Singapore Ghost Stories¡± series into the East Asian
markets. This series is adapted from a book of the same title and
will introduce a distinctively Singapore flavoured product to a
regional audience.
8 Later
this morning, local content management company, Mega Media will be
signing an MOU with Indonesia¡¯s Omnicron Asia to set up a US$3
million Singapore - Indonesia Digital Film Fund. This Fund is the
first of its kind between Singapore and Indonesia. The objective is
to create a forum for the exchange of ideas between the creative
talents of both countries.
9 Moving
beyond Asia, Singapore companies have also struck deals with leading
players in Europe. Riding on the success of House of Harmony, Oak 3
Films (Singapore) is co-producing a new tele-movie for Germany¡¯s
largest broadcaster ARD and worldwide distribution by Europe¡¯s major
distributor Beta Films. Another Singapore company, ¡°Sitting In
Pictures¡± will produce a nine-part series featuring celebrity chef
Kylie Kwong in China with Fremantle International Distribution. This
is the first time that the UK-based company is working with a
Singapore company to develop a series for international
distribution.
10 At the
bilateral level, Singapore will also be signing agreements with
Canada, Thailand and Italy to facilitate industry partnerships such
as co-productions, exchange of information and technical expertise.
These agreements will set the stage for more Singapore media
enterprises to go global.
Loan Guarantee Facility
11 Secondly,
we have also made headway in the area of media financing. As
announced this week, MDA has collaborated with RGM Holdings Pte Ltd,
a talent management and executive production company based in
Singapore, to set up a Loan Guarantee Facility. The Facility will be
used as a catalyst to partially finance at least six international
films, worth S$80 million over the next two years. It provides local
production companies with the opportunities to work with
international production companies and talents to produce
high-quality and globally marketable products.
Media Content
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12 Thirdly,
Singapore¡¯s media industry also secured co-production deals worth a
total of US$50 million at MIPCOM 2006. This will pave the way for
more international collaborations in television, animation and film.
13 Our
creative outputs in television and film have also been unveiled at
some of the world¡¯s most competitive trade markets and film
festivals. Talented local filmmakers have garnered international
acclaim and awards in global film festivals, such as Eric Khoo and
his ¡°Be With Me¡± and Woo Yen Yen and Colin Goh who co-directed
¡°Singapore Dreaming¡±.
High Definition Television (HDTV) and Internet
Protocol Television (IPTV)
14 Fourthly,
Singapore¡¯s high-definition television trials are progressing well.
The terrestrial and cable trials have kicked off, making Singapore
the first in Southeast Asia to launch HDTV public trials. In tandem
with the launch, MDA is leading a drive to promote the development
of local HD content and speed up nationwide adoption and deployment
of HD technology.
15 We have
adopted a two-pronged approach to support local HD content
development and work with international players to boost HD
programming. And we are seeing some results - close to 50 hours of
¡°Made-by-Singapore¡± HD content will be completed by the end of this
year. This will be doubled by 2007. Concurrently, we are working
with international and regional industry players to produce quality
HD content. For instance, the Korean Broadcasting Institute (KBI)
and MDA will collaborate on three HDTV co-productions, which are
scheduled for international distribution in 2007.
16 The
deployment of HDTV in Singapore will escalate when Starhub launches
commercial HDTV services in early 2007. It will offer two channels.
Terrestrial broadcaster, MediaCorp, also has plans for a commercial
HDTV launch in 2007. MediaCorp has started producing HD content for
local television and is also working with production houses in China
to produce HD content for an international audience. In another
encouraging development, Singapore¡¯s largest telco, SingTel, has
started Internet Protocol TV (IPTV) trials earlier this month.
Radio Broadcast and Media Services
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17 Lastly,
Singapore¡¯s radio broadcast industry also saw new developments.
Rediffusion introduced its new digital radio service in July with
nine new stations added to its two well established English and
Chinese stations.
18 The media
services industry has also made new inroads with the recent
partnership between local company Mega Media and SDI Media USA to
bring Hollywood mixing services to Singapore. This partnership will
enable Hollywood blockbusters to be mixed in Mega Media's digital
audio facilities for the Asian language versions of such movies.
This strategic tie-up with the world's leading provider of
subtitling and language dubbing services will leverage on Mega
Media's 7.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound capabilities and audio
post-production services.
Interactive
Digital Media (IDM)
19 Moving
ahead, we will continue with our efforts to help Singapore media
enterprises grow and become competitive globally. We have identified
the fast-emerging Interactive and Digital Media (IDM) sector as a
key engine of growth for our media sector. A fund of up to S$500
million will be available to support strategic IDM research projects
which can transform the media sector and double its contribution to
the Singapore economy. We will develop local talent and attract
international talent to develop IDM solutions which will place
Singapore at the forefront of new media technologies. We will
encourage both local and international companies to look to
Singapore as a marketplace for IDM products and services.
20 It has
been an exciting time for Singapore as we make progress in the media
sector. I believe the excitement will continue, not just for
Singapore, but also the global media industry, as new technologies
and trends emerge to push the frontiers of this dynamic sector.
There will be ample opportunities for all media players. I encourage
Singapore media entrepreneurs and creative talents to tap into and
explore the opportunities in this vibrant media sector.
21 On this
note, I wish all of you a rewarding and fruitful time at the AMF.
And to all foreign delegates, I wish you a pleasant stay in
Singapore.
22 Thank you.