SFC Markets and Finance | Cultural IP Insights: 2024 GBA Cultural Industry Investment Conference

南方财经全媒体记者杨雨莱 梁旭琦 李依农 广州报道

The 2024 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cultural Industry Investment Conference has been disclosed on November 20.

In recent years, a series of Chinese cultural IPs have been emerging, especially in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. For instance, the production company behind "Black Myth: Wukong" is registered in Shenzhen, Guangdong, a microcosm of the growth of 89,000 game and cultural enterprises in the province.

The animation "I Am What I Am" has also had many standout moments. However, "I Am What I Am" actually has been through a tough growing period. What are the bottlenecks in the incubation of cultural IPs?  

Haiming Cheng, Founder & CEO at Yi Animation Inc. 

Just as the head of the China Film Administration recently emphasized, the film industry is indeed facing a severe shortage of financial and funding support. This is a significant challenge faced by the entire cultural sector. At the core of it is a lack of trust. Cultural works were particularly favored by capital in 2016 and 2017. At that time, the market was growing well, and investor returns were quite impressive.  

Since 2018, the industry has undergone a series of reorganizations and adjustments. These measures have, to some extent, addressed certain persistent issues in the industry. However, they also led to some speculative capital leaving the industry. Coupled with the impact of the three-year pandemic, the cultural industry as a whole is currently in a capital downturn.  

Therefore, we believe this is indeed a time to restore confidence in capital. We need more outstanding works to emerge. At the same time, we need stronger box office performance.  This will help investors and capital in the cultural sector regain their confidence and hope in investing.   

Now, there are many new technologies emerging in the market. What are the new opportunities and signs of recovery of investment and financing market of Chinese cultural industry? What are some advantages of the Greater Bay Area developing cultural industries? Let’s hear from the experts and investors in financing on the conference.

Liang Junjian, associate professor at Tsinghua University

The cultural industry in the Greater Bay Area (GBA), has developed in step with national trends. From what we observe, despite the impact of the pandemic on various industries,

the cultural sector has maintained a compound annual growth rate of over 10% from 2019 to 2023. It shows that growth in the cultural industry track has been quite evident in recent years. The GBA has shown particularly outstanding performance in this regard, particularly in primary market investments in culture and technology,  leading and driving the national industry.

The Greater Bay Area has several key advantages. First, it boasts well-established investment and financing entities that align closely with market dynamics. Second, the GBA serves as a frontier for cultural innovation, attracting a cluster of culture and technology firms and top talent from the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Macao.  These strengths position the GBA to excel in cultural industry investment and financing.

Ouyang Min, Chairman of China science and tech innovation venture capital manacement (CSCT)

For example, for short videos, the output value from last year, based on the data I saw, has already surpassed that of traditional cinema. This indicates a significant shift in the creative forces driving the market. Self-media and micro-dramas are experiencing a clear boom, marking a period of great prosperity. This represents an opportunity for recovery, and to size the opportunity, they are supported by various forces government backing,  the application of technology for empowerment, and capital providing financial support.

Moreover, with the nation's strong focus on cultural industry development, support and guidance from the government, the convergence of these efforts creates robust internal momentum. In Guangdong province and Guangzhou, governments at all levels see great importance on the cultural industry. This field is broad, encompassing not only film and television but also related infrastructure and cultural tourism. Its extensive scope significantly boosts consumption and other sectors. Moreover, in terms of technology, with the Greater Bay Area being a hub for technology, especially the rise of industries like artificial intelligence in recent years has provided strong technical support for the cultural industry here. We also have abundant investment capital here, these factors together, position the Greater Bay Area as a key driver of cultural industry development nationwide. 

Recently, Li Ziqi, who has made a comeback, has been in the spotlight, with her YouTube following reaching 20 million. "Cultural export" has become a key term. Why is cultural export important? What kind of IPs can attract international attention?

Tao Feng, Dean of the Institute of Industrial Economics at Jinan University

China's industrial development has always relied on both domestic and international markets. It’s about leveraging and coordinating these two markets and resources simultaneously. This is how industries have been able to thrive. This is especially true for cultural products.

Cultural products have another very important characteristic: the marginal cost of production keeps decreasing. Once a certain scale is reached, the cost of adding an additional consumer is very low. So, the larger its consumer base, the more profitable it becomes.

Regarding the issue of cultural products going global, on one hand, we do have a very large population base, and the domestic market is substantial. But for our enterprises to grow larger and stronger, our cultural products and services, such as games, still have a gap compared to the most advanced countries internationally. 

Black Myth: Wukong should be considered a very good example of a breakthrough in terms of technology. It represents the technological growth of China's gaming industry, which has already reached a certain stage. However, focusing solely on the domestic market is not enough. For our companies to become world-class enterprises, they must compete in the global market. From the perspective of a company's development and competitiveness, cultural export is an inevitable trend. It can also better support companies in growing larger and stronger.

Another very important point is that from a national strategic perspective, we must promote the export of Chinese culture. Especially in the current complex and dynamic international context, we are facing bottlenecks in many areas. Cultural export is a crucial embodiment of soft power. 

By integrating soft cultural elements into hard products—such as games, toys, or clothing—this culturalization of industries embeds cultural elements into tangible goods. Using these products as carriers to drive cultural export could be a highly effective, and possibly even more efficient, way to promote Chinese culture globally. 

At present, various industries in Guangdong are accelerating the "culture plus" initiative. Last year at this conference, nine projects achieved financing, totaling 1.51 billion yuan. The phenomenal cultural products originate from the Greater Bay Area and yet extend beyond it. The Greater Bay Area is exploring a unique path for China's cultural industry development and going global by integrating "culture + technology + consumption" across different sectors.

Chief Producer: Yu Xiaona

Supervising Producer: Shi Shi

Editor: Li Yinong

Reporter: Yang Yulai, Liang Xuqi, Li Yinong

Video Editor: Cai Yutian, Li Qun

New Media Coordination: Ding Qingyun, Zeng Tingfang, Lai Xi, Huang Daxun

Overseas Operations Supervising Producer: Huang Yanshu

Overseas Content Coordinator: Huang Zihao

Overseas Operations Editors: Zhuang Huan, Wu Wanjie, Long Lihua, Zhang Weitao

Produced by: Southern Finance Omnimedia Group