China encourages private investment in animation

BEIJING -- The government has pledged to offer more favorable financing policies to boost the country's domestic animation industry, according to a development plan released Thursday by the Ministry of Culture.

The plan says private investment will be encouraged to enter the industry in various forms, while the government will direct its policy-based banks to give financial support to qualified enterprises.

The new policies will apply to both State-owned animation companies and private entities, according to the five-year development plan (2011-15) on the animation industry.

Official figures indicate that the production value of China's animation industry hit an estimated 60 billion yuan ($9.4 billion) in 2011.

However, the plan warned that the country's animation sector remains weak, proposing a list of stimulating policies.

The plan calls for domestic animators to churn out 30 animated films annually by 2015, as well as sets goals for building industrial parks and cultivating new animators and brands.