Major Chinese heavyweights in the e-reading, online gaming and animation sectors are expected to take part in a cross-strait digital content exchange forum tomorrow — the largest-ever event of its kind to take place in Taipei.
The forum is expected to see Taiwanese and Chinese companies in the digital content sectors exchange views and ink partnerships, according to co-organizers Taiwan’s Institute for the Information Industry (III, 資策會) and China’s Center for Information Industry Development (CCiD, 中國電子信息產業發展研究院).
Both III and CCiD are expected to announce collaboration on digital content standardizations that would facilitate research and development for Taiwanese and Chinese companies, as well as enable devices adopted by both sides to interface using the same technical formats.
The Chinese heavyweights scheduled to attend the event are: China’s leading PC maker Founder Group (方正集團), mobile operator China Telecom Corp (中國電信), top e-reader maker Hanvon Technology Co (漢王科技) and China’s largest animation, comic book and toys producer, Guangdong Alpha Animation and Culture Co (廣東奧飛動漫文化).
In terms of Taiwanese participants, the list includes, Chunghwa Telecom Co (中華電信), Gamania Digital Entertainment Co (遊戲橘子), BenQ Corp (明基) and Taiwan Digital Publishing Forum (台灣數位出版聯盟), which is an alliance that congregates publishers, digital content providers and IT firms in the digital content sector.
The Ministry of Economic Affairs will speak at the forum to brief Chinese enterprises on Taiwan’s investment environment, hoping to lure more cash from across the Taiwan Strait.
The ministry said the forum would serve as a platform to showcase Taiwan’s strength in digital content development and would help push Taiwanese firms onto the international stage through collaboration with Chinese partners.
Taiwanese firms are eager to participate in China’s burgeoning digital content sector. For instance, they are eyeing a place in the e-reading market with hopes of developing Mandarin-language content and devices that are able to synchronize with those from China.
China is forecast to see e-reader sales jump from 800,000 last year to 3 million this year, making up of 20 percent of the global market, according to research firm DisplaySearch.
DisplaySearch said China will surpass the US to become the world’s largest e-reader market before 2015 because of its large population.
Market intelligence firm iSuppli Corp said about 4 million electronic-book reading devices were sold last year worldwide. The number is expected to jump to 12 million this year and 18 million in 2012, iSuppli predicted.
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