The Ministry of Culture held a press conference and networking meeting on April 11 for the Cultural Content Investment Project (文化內容投資計畫), where Minister of Culture Cheng Li-Chun announced that the project will commence at the end of April.
Together with National Development Council Minister Chen Mei-ling and Financial Supervisory Commission Vice Chairman Cheng Cheng-mount, she also called on content industry investors from financial holdings, venture capital, and production industries from home and abroad, along with platform holders and distributors, to join the initiative.
Minister Cheng stated that cultural content is at the core of the cultural and creative industries, but currently, Taiwan faces a troublesome dearth of production and is in dire need of investment. Such investment will help spark new momentum and facilitate the restructuring of a fractured industrial ecosystem.
In order to channel more funding into the industry, the Ministry of Culture has obtained NT$6 billion from the National Development Fund to set up the Cultural Content Investment Project. Combined with the existing Cultural and Creative Investment Two-Phase Program (文創投資一、二期計畫), this will see some NT$10 billion from the NDF put to use in the cultural and creative industries.
In addition, the Ministry has also secured a four-year budget of NT$4.18 billion from the Forward-Looking Infrastructure Development Program to put in place a twin structure of investment financing and subsidies. The Ministry aims to play a leading role in the development of an infrastructure for cultural content, encouraging private-sector investment and promoting the long-term dynamic growth of the market.
To help create an environment conducive to such investment, the Ministry has worked with the Financial Supervisory Commission, Taiwan Stock Exchange, Taipei Exchange, Joint Credit Information Center, and Small & Medium Enterprise Credit Guarantee Fund of Taiwan to create a working platform for the promotion of cultural financing policy and the gradual establishment of investment and financial policy tools.
For example, development of a model for commercial evaluation of intangible assets will be complete and enter testing this year. Working together with the Ministry of Economic Affairs, a database of intangible asset evaluations will be established and a collateral system launched, further encouraging investment into cultural content creators.
This August, the Ministry also plans to hold The 3rd Investment and Financing Elite Class, which promotes exchange between the finance and cultural content creation industries and fosters a common language between them.
In addition, the Cultural Content Financing Professional Cooperation Office (文化內容產業投融資專業協力辦公室) will continue to provide advice on pitch improvements and matchmaking channels, bringing together creatives and funders to make investment more efficient and create a stronger cultural funding environment.
The establishment of the Cultural Content Institute shall provide a team that, in coordination with the policies of the Ministry, will revitalize the domestic cultural content industry, promote private-sector investment, and create a distinctively Taiwanese cultural brand.
Vice Minister of Culture Lee Lien-Chuan also explained the mechanisms behind the Cultural Content Investment Project, starting with the industries classified as being involved in the creation of cultural content ― namely film & television, publishing, and ACG (anime, comics, games).
These will all be the focus of investment, with the aims being the creation of new models and development domestically, the derivation of franchises, the integration of big data and blockchain technologies to improve security and speed, the application of other new technologies, and the development of new platforms and commercial operation models.
The investment model of the Cultural Content Investment Project will also be refined to encourage investment from the financial industry, venture capital, platform and channel holders, distributors, and production companies. All potential investors are welcomed to apply. This aims to expand and diversify private-sector investment and produce a spillover effect that will, in turn, promote the integration of industrial linkages.
The Ministry will also hold at one or more networking meetings per month to introduce cases with potential to cultural content investors, and invite new investors to partake in the joint platform.
Taiwan’s cultural content industry has already been building steam; the government’s policy aims to ignite investment and drive growth, so public and private sectors can work together to increase the international market share of Taiwanese content.
At the same time, the growing strength of this industry is an important force in the transformation of Taiwan ― not only by injecting vitality into society, but driving the nation toward the next milestone in its economic development.
Related Content