Your Excellencies,

Mr Paul Beh, President, Asia Pacific, Reed Exhibitions,

Ladies and gentlemen,

Members of the media,

Good morning. I extend my warmest welcome to all participants of the Asia

Media Festival 2007 (AMF).

2. This is the 6th AMF hosted by the Media Development Authority of Singapore (MDA). It comprises a variety of exciting media events for both trade professionals and consumers. The AMF is also one of the key events under Creative 2007, a month-long showcase to celebrate and promote Singapore's creative industries.

3. Today also marks the official opening of the Asia Television Forum -- Asia's leading TV programming market. Asia Television Forum, or ATF in short, has grown both in size and stature since its launch in 2000. Last year, more than US$47 million worth of business transactions were made. This is seven times more than the modest US$6.3 million that was recorded in 2002. The relevance of ATF to the industry is illustrated by the presence of many international media companies, as well as the growing number of participating countries and national pavilions at the event each year.

4. According to a report by PriceWaterHouseCoopers, the global entertainment and media market, worth US$1.3 trillion in 2004, will increase to US$1.8 trillion in 2009. Asia Pacific is leading the way in terms of year-on-year growth, with spending growing at an average of 11.6 per cent annually versus a compound annual growth rate of 7.3 per cent globally.

5. This is not surprising since Asia, with its cultural diversity and growing affluence, is both a rich source of media content as well as a major consumer of such content. There is tremendous potential to create content which appeals to global audiences while encapsulating the new spirit, dynamism and confidence of Asia. We are indeed seeing the emergence of what may be called New Asia Media.

We are also witnessing growing international interest to launch made-for-the-world co-productions inspired by from ideas from Asia.

6. Singapore's strategic position as an East-West gateway, coupled with excellent infrastructure and skilled talents, offers an ideal launch pad for international co-productions.

7. One of the new areas where we see enormous growth potential is interactive and digital media and video games. According to industry reports, the worldwide video game and interactive entertainment industry is expected to grow from about US$29 billion in 2005 to as much as US$44 billion in 2011.

8. In Singapore, the nascent game industry has grown from a handful just several years ago to some 30 companies today. Home-grown companies such as Activate Interactive, Boomzap Pte Ltd, NexGen and Mikoishi have made waves internationally. Leading Japanese game developers Koei Entertainment and Genki have also set up their office here to develop content for the global market generating more buzz for our IDM sector.

9. Let me now touch on the progress of the Singapore's media industry.

International relations

10. Singapore has forged several international co-production agreements and media MOUs with Australia, Canada, Japan, Korea, New Zealand and various ASEAN countries. Several MOUs will be inked at this AMF. Just yesterday, Singapore and the Philippines signed an agreement for media cooperation. The areas covered include media policy and information exchange, training and HR development, co-production and distribution and mutual exchanges. Tomorrow, MDA will sign an MOU with Canal France International to facilitate digital broadcasting training collaborations and potential co-production projects between Singapore and France.

11. Last year, we signed an MOU with the National Film Board of Canada (NFB). This MOU led to the launch the CROSS-MEDIA CHALLENGE - a competition to develop innovative projects that harness the advantages of new technologies such as mobile and broadband, for cross-platform delivery and multi-faceted audience engagement. The winner will be announced at MIPTV in 2008.

12. We hope that such international collaborations will inspire the production and distribution of more quality media content that appeals to a global audience. We are interested to forge more co-production agreements with like-minded countries. We also hope that trade participants attending AMF will make good use of this opportunity to build win-win business partnerships.

HDTV, Mobile TV and Asia Factual Forum

13. Singapore adopts a pro-enterprise outlook to encourage industry players - both local and international - to test-bed and deploy innovative media technologies and services here. Early last year, MDA worked with industry players to successfully kick-off a series of trials on High Definition TV. Today, HDTV is available to Singapore households over free-to-air, cable and Internet Protocol or IPTV.

16. The superior quality and sound offered by HDTV lends itself well to the production of documentaries and factual programmes. In fact, the growing factual industry presents opportunities for Asian producers and documentary makers to interpret and tell stories mined from our rich heritage and ancient civilisations.

17. I am therefore glad to note that one of the highlights of AMF this year includes the inaugural Asia Factual Forum (AFF). The AFF is a showcase of the latest, finest and richest content in the documentary genre. It provides a platform for professional development and business networking. AFF can help to develop Singapore as a regional hub for co-production of factual content.

Centre for Content Protection

18. With digitalisation of content, intellectual property protection will become increasingly critical, particularly in safeguarding the rich cultural diversity and creative output in Asia. I understand that this will also be explored at length during the Digital Future Symposium at ATF later today.

19. Seen from this perspective, the agreement between the MDA and Motion Pictures Association (MPA) to establish Asia's first Centre for Content Protection (CCP), in Singapore, is a positive development. The CCP is Asia's first technical organisation devoted to content protection technologies, policies and standards. It is envisioned to be a clearinghouse of information for all aspects and information regarding digital distribution and content protection.

20. The CCP is a testament to Singapore's standing as a secure media hub which respects intellectual property. It will further enhance our value proposition as a trusted media partner.

Upgrading capabilities

21. As the media industry grows, it is important to enlarge our talent pool to meet the needs of the media ecosystem. One programme to address this issue is the William Morris Agency-MDA’s Masterclass Series. Leveraging on William Morris Agency's (WMA) global resources and relationships, this Masterclass Series will see renowned media personalities and professionals coming to Singapore to share their knowledge, experience and expertise with our local media industry players. We are pleased to be partnering WMA as it reputed to be the largest and most diversified talent and literary agency in the world.

Financing for new growth

22. Another critical component of the media ecosystem is funding. Attracting private funds is imperative to sustaining long-term industry growth and we are actively working with industry and financial institutions to bring in private capital and investment into the Singapore media industry.

23. For example, we have attracted Australian-based Arclight Films to open a local office Easternlight Film Productions, to finance, produce and distribute international projects. Its debut film project Dance of the Dragon, stars home-grown actress Fann Wong as the female lead, and is currently in production.

24. This year's theme of convergence at ATF is timely, given the industry’s response to technological advancements. Worldwide, industry players are exploring how content can be adapted across platforms to reach out to new audiences. We are also encouraging local players to extend the shelf-life of their original properties.

An example would be the original pre-school animated property, Katakune (pronounced Ka-ta-coon) created by Singapore company Character Farm. The property, which started as a TV series, has been ported to the Web and onto mobile platforms, facilitated by a landmark deal with HI (pronounced 'high') Corp, a Japanese developer of 3D technologies for mobile.

25. I am confident that AMF and ATF will continue to serve the global media industry and look forward to your participation as we explore the opportunities presented by the vibrant media and TV sector.

26. On this note, I wish all of you a rewarding and fruitful time at AMF and ATF 2007. To all overseas delegates, I wish you a pleasant and enjoyable stay in Singapore.

27. Thank you.