$HHSE$ -- Doing business with a newly established Chinese movie studio --
Congratulations to STARRY ENTERTAINMENT (Shenzen) and CRIMSON FOREST - two emerging principal venture partners for Hannover House - on an impressive announcement and resulting coverage from the Hong Kong FilMart yesterday.
FilMart: Ambitious Starry Entertainment Launch Defies China Slowdown
A whopping 19 projects spanning across films, TV series, animations, VR and more are in the pipeline for Starry Entertainment, a newly established Chinese studio with a startup capital of $29 million (RMB200 million) and a financial capacity of $100 million.
Highest profile among the 19 is the $30 million “Hero’s Journey to the West,” an animated version of the classic Chinese tale “Journey to the West” featuring the famous Monkey King character. Starry has enlisted former Disney animator Chris Bradley as director and Marvel Studio character designer Walter A. McDaniel as the art director. A-list Hollywood stars are being scouted as voice talent for the English version of the film, scheduled for release during the Lunar New Year of 2019.
Starry also recently acquired McDaniel’s Beijing-based media company Red Dragon, according to Jon Chiew, former head of global business at Huace Films and now Starry’s COO and Hong Kong branch CEO.
Headquartered in Shenzhen with offices in both Hong Kong and Beijing , Starry Entertainment unveiled at FilMart on Wednesday an ambitious plan to pool a variety of resources across the show business spectrum to create a “one-stop shop” offering a wide spectrum of entertainment products.
The principal investor of the company, which has six subsidiaries, is Guotai Junan Securities, a Chinese securities companies founded in 1992. The two companies have signed an initial public offering memorandum as Starry Entertainment’s first step toward its goal to be a publicly listed company in mainland China within five years.
“We will create and develop content. And we will find partners and distributors, and also a lot of my friends want to invest, sometimes in the company and sometimes in individual projects,” said Chiew.
Starry has formed a partnership with the U.S. distributor and investor Crimson Forest for international releases of its productions.
Another film project is “Asia Pacific Elimination Service”, a story about some retired action film actors, starring Thai martial artist and actor Tony Jaa and Taiwanese-American actor David Wu. It will be produced on a budget of $12 million, with production expected to begin by the end of 2017.
Other projects include “Crystal Panda,” an animation movie targeting children, and a 36-episode detective TV series.
The establishment of the new studio comes at a time when box office takings in China have slowed markedly. But Starry’s official launch during Hong Kong’s FilMart had a distinctly bullish feel. With some 200 people in the room, it took over the ballroom at the Grand Hyatt hotel, it boasted glossy corporate vides, organizational charts and on-stage interviews with talent from a selection of the upcoming projects.
The principal investor of Starry Entertainment, one of HHSE's principal emerging venture partners is Guotai Junan Securities:
Guotai Junan Securities Co. Ltd., was established on August 18, 1999 after the merger of former Guotai Securities Co. Ltd. (founded on September 10, 1992) and Junan Securities Co. Ltd. (founded on August 25, 1992), currently with registered capital of RMB 6.1 billion.
Since the beginning, Guotai Junan have based its services on clients’ needs. It is among leaders with most extensive business coverage, most widely distributed agencies and most customers served. Guotai Junan has 5 subsidiaries: Guotai Junan Financial Holding Co., Ltd. (registered in Hong Kong), Guotai Junan Futures Co., Ltd., Shanghai Guotai Junan Securities Asset Management Co., Ltd., GTJA Innovation Investment Co., Ltd. and Guotai Junan Allianz Fund Management Co., Ltd. The company has set up 26 branches, 193 securities outlets in 30 provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions across China.
Innovation-wise, Guotai Junan has led the trend in the industry. All over these years, its achievements have included: launching the first asset management business in 1993; firstly starting operation in Hong Kong in 1995; initiating research institute among securities companies in 1996; obtaining the first securities dealer qualification for agency share transfer and hosting offer in 2001; were among the first to have been approved to conduct QFII business in 2003; beginning to serve as primary dealer of the central bank open market, becoming a market maker in inter-bank bond market; the first ones that have got QDII qualifications and financial futures business qualifications in 2007; taking the lead in getting the qualification of equity investment and futures IB business in 2008; firstly obtaining the margin trading & securities lending qualification in 2010. In the same year, Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited (HKSE: 1788) under the administration of Guotai Junan Financial Holding Co., Ltd. was listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, becoming the first public company under the Mainland brokers in Hong Kong, breaking the barrier. In March 2011, Guotai Junan International Holdings was selected in the Index constituent stock according to Hang Seng Hong Kong Composite Index, being the only one constituent stock of Chinese securities firms.
Guotai Junan is one of the first securities companies engaged in a variety of innovative services. As the exclusive financial consultant in realizing overall listing of SAIC Group: the first A+H IPO; the first bond product with a guaranteed floating return; the first asset backed security product; and, the first non-guaranteed local enterprises bond. It has also been the first to introduce quantitative investment concepts and trading strategies, managing the first hedge fund in China, leading the ways in derivatives products. We are the first investment bank conducting cross-border business and the first to gain the approval for RQFII. Furthermore, the number one brand in wealth management, Junhong Wealth Club, is under Guotai Junan as well.
During 2004–2011, the company has been top-ranked in World Brand Lab-China's 500 Most Valuable Chinese Securities Brands. While in 2008–2012, it has obtained Class A AA-level according to the securities classification of the China Securities Regulatory Commission for five consecutive years.
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