Pyramid Saimira to invest Rs 400 crore in China

Mumbai, Apr 20 (UNI) Chennai-based Pyramid Saimira Group, the world's fastest growing entertainment conglomerate has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the China Society Music Research Board to foray into entertainment business there and planned to invest Rs 400 crore in the first year.

In association with the Chinese board, a functionary under the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, the group had formed a joint venture group -- ''Jiangsu Pyramid Longzhe group'' -- that will operate theatres, distribute films and engage in other entertainment, arts and cultural activities in China, the Chennai-based group stated in a release.

''The new entity plans to launch one screen per day in Mainland China and further generate non-box office revenues also,'' the group said.

Commenting on the MoU and the newly formed venture, Pyramid Saimira Group Managing Director P S Saminathan said, ''It is a proud moment for the Pyramid Saimira Group to become the first Indian entertainment company to foray into China. This is a landmark deal for us, given that the entertainment sector in China is highly regulated.'' While, Association of Social Music Research in China (ASMRC) Secretary General Assistant Luo Shi Zheng said, ''China is actively pursuing strong cultural ties and would like to strengthen Sino-India people to people cultural exchange and cooperation.'' Through this joint venture group, Pyramid is looking for investing around Rs 400 crore in the first year of operation, which will be deployed in exhibition, distribution, television content, music and production infrastructure seeding, Mr Saminathan further said adding, ''Through this venture, we will create a huge theatre chain network, food courts, gaming parlours and offer other entertainment services. We will bring international content to China and will also showcase and market local Chinese content across the world.'' China has a great potential for the entertainment sector as there is a significant increase in the disposable incomes of the entire population, as well as the willingness of new generation to avail multi-faceted entertainment product and services, Mr Saminathan added.

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