Trading started on Thursday on the Chinese national exchange center of the animation, cartoon and game industry, a move that experts believe will boost the industry by bringing it into the capital market.

The center will provide an exchange platform for assets and equity, and offer fund-raising, intermediary and pricing services for companies, said Cai Minyong, president of Shanghai United Assets and Equity Exchange (SUAEE).

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More than 30 items, including the publication rights of some Chinese folklore cartoons in Europe, were listed on the exchange with a combined price of about US$4 million.

The exchange center in Shanghai was co-founded by the National Center for Animation, Cartoon and Game Industry and the SUAEE.

The SUAEE estimates the output value of China's animation, cartoon and game sector at 18 billion yuan (US$2.36 billion) per year, and the market demand at more than 60 billion yuan.

"The room for the industry's development is huge," said an SUAEE official.

The global output value of the industry was more than US$500 billion in 2005.

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