Fund to inject $157m into Chinese cultural firms

The China Culture Industry Investment Fund plans to plough more than 1 billion yuan ($157 million) into Chinese cultural and media enterprises over the next six months the Securities Daily newspaper has reported.

The fund has so far invested in five leading Chinese cultural companies including Xinhuanet, the online portal of the official news agency Xinhua, and the State-owned publishing house China Publishing Group.

The fund's new investments will focus on three areas - traditional media, new media and culture-related industries such as film production companies and publishing houses.

The 12th Five-Year Plan Period (2011-2015) is considered an important time for China's cultural development.

Zhu Jiancheng, secretary-general of the China Culture Industry Investment Fund council, said the fund needed to identify and invest in new trends to meet the requirements of robust cultural development.

Zhu said traditional cultural resources should be exploited but updated to meet modern needs.

Experts say China's cultural development faces challenges but also provides many opportunities.

The rapid expansion of the China Culture Industry Investment Fund indicates that cultural industries, such as film production houses and media outlets, have become engines for economic growth in China.

Challenges facing China's cultural industries include poor technology, limited finance, and difficulties in cross-media and cross-regional expansion. These constraints can limit cultural enterprises' growth and can affect their initial public offerings and the use of capital raised from IPO.