Entrepreneur upbeat about British TV takeover, doubt remains

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-07-15 14:54

HANGZHOU: Chinese entrepreneur Ye Maoxi told Xinhua late Tuesday he hoped his newly acquired British satellite TV station would provide all-round China reports to overseas viewers and expand his own business in the international market.

This is despite concern in China that Ye has neither set foot in the media operation nor done business overseas.

Ye, 50, a native of Wenzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, is president of Beijing-based Xiking Group, which engages in advertising, cultural promotions, printing, manufacturing and real estate. Last month, Ye bought "Propeller", a British satellite TV station.

"It is a new challenge for me and my group to run Propeller because we have long been concentrating on businesses other than media inside China," said Ye in a telephone interview from Britain with Xinhua Tuesday.

Ye diclined to disclose the financial terms for buying the British satellite TV station.

Ye first learned of Propeller when he visited the UK as part of a Chinese business delegation with Premier Wen Jiabao in February. He learned that Propeller wanted to attract strategic investment because of the financial crisis.

Ye said before he concluded the deal, he talked with and learned a lot from fellow Wenzhou resident Wang Weisheng, who bought a state-owned television station in the United Arab Emirates three years ago and relaunched it in August 2006. The station mainly broadcasts business information about China.

Broadcast from Yorkshire, Propeller was launched in February 2006 on Sky TV's satellite platform. It claims to be the first digital satellite television channel in Europe to screen 100 percent new and original programming.

Propeller also claims to be a not-for-profit organization that "reinvests any income it generates back into schemes that support new talent and is under the scrutiny of the UK Film Council and Skillset in this role", according to the company's website.

Ye said his group took over Propeller on July 1.

"Many things need to be done in the future and it is necessary to find good strategic cooperation partners. I believe there is a room for making good profits if the business is managed well."

Ye said the parent company will finance formation of a special professional production unit, which would be responsible for making TV programs showcasing China.

Ma Hongxia, assistant to the general manager of Xiking Group, emphasized they would retain Propeller's original TV production team and keep the original style and features of most of its programs to respect the viewing habits of its audience.

"Specific programs will be made bilingual - English and Chinese - to introduce China the way it is to people in Western countries," said Ma, who said news reporting by some Western media were biased or incomplete due to a lack of good understanding of China.

Ma hoped Propeller would serve as a bridge between China and the Western world to better understand each other and promote a common prosperity.

Zhou Dewen, deputy chief of China Small and Medium-sized Enterprises Promotion Association, believed Ye was taking risks in buying the British TV business.

"People of Wenzhou in nature prefers taking risks, and they see big risks hidden in things that seemingly have no risk," said Zhou.

Yu Guoming, deputy head of the School of Journalism of the Beijing-based Renmin University of China, said Ye's move added a platform for expression and display, which might be helpful in boosting publicity of certain Chinese companies and their products.

"I don't think it is a good idea to make such an investment with the perspective of using it as a channel to export our culture or concept of values," said Yu.