CB 2015 China Investment Roadmap: The Entertainment Industry - Preview

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Surveying a list of China’s high-growth industries
published by CNN in 2013, one can appreciate just
how much the Chinese economy has changed
over the past decade. In place of low value-added
exports like shoes and toys, the list names consumer-
oriented industries like food & beverage, health care
and private education, as well as innovation-heavy
sectors such as clean technology, cloud computing
and e-commerce.
Notably absent from this
list, however, is China’s
entertainment industry,
which is predicted to grow
by 10.9 percent (CAGR)
between 2013 and 2018.
As we explore in detail
in the pages to follow,
this is connected to the
misalignment between
typical Western ideas of
“showbiz”and China’s official
industry classification scheme, resulting in confused
definitions of what is and isn’t deemed part of the
entertainment industry in China.
Considered as a whole, the entertainment industry
in China presents amixed bag of opportunities and
restrictions, incentives and obstacles. Historically,
the industry has been subject to some of the
most stringent restrictions on foreign investment,
but in recent years these have given way to policy
adjustments such as the lifting of a 14-year ban
on video game consoles in the Shanghai Free
Trade Zone. The situation
today is one inwhich targeted
incentives are being used
to channel investment into
priority areas such as cinema
construction and high-tech
entertainment services.
In this special edition China
Briefing Industry Report,
we cast our gaze over the
broad landscape of China’s
enter tainment industr y,
identifyingwhere the greatest
opportunities are to be found and why. Next, we
detail some of themost important issues for foreign
investors to be aware of, including legal, regulatory,
and tax considerations specific to the industry.
Lastly, we provide an insider analysis of the sector’s
unique human resources challenges.
This Month’s Cover Art
Morning Pagannini by Ye Lan ( 叶阑 )
Oil on canvas, 150x100cm
YELAN Art Gallery (云峰画苑 )
| +86 180 1609 3520
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© 2015 Asia Briefing Ltd.
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Introduction