ATF – Malaysia announces industry incentives and international content market for 2013
Speaking at the Creative Malaysia Networking Luncheon at Asian Television Forum (ATF) in Singapore, Datuk MD Afendi, Chairman of the Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (FINAS) announced a range of production incentives for the film and television industry and confirmed that Malaysia wills et up its first content market, the Kuala Lumpur Communications & Creative Industry Mart (KLCCIM) in March 2013.
Among the grants and incentives unveiled were the “Film in Malaysia” Production Incentive Rebate commencing on 1 January 2013, which provides local and foreign producers a 30% rebate on audited in-country spend; the USD 38 million Creative Industry Grant (by the Ministry of Information, Communications and Culture); the USD 33 million Creative Industry Development Fund by the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and the USD 65 million MyCreative Fund by MyCreative Ventures.
The KLCCIM 2013 initiative will bring together and facilitate the meeting of business enterprises and creative minds to generate cooperation and commercial opportunities that is intended to position Kuala Lumpur as the regional hub for all marketing, trade and development opportunities for communications and creative content in the region. The event is expected to be the platform for commerce, economic alliances and promotional events in addition to showcasing the products from participants.
Through initiatives such as KLCCIM, the Malaysian Government is aggressively enhancing its plans and strategies to be able to target and capture a significant share of the anticipated expansion value of estimated US$ 470 billion consumer spend in Asia-Pacific alone. Under the “MY Creative Content” parallel to the ETP initiative, Malaysia targets to achieve a Gross National Income (GNI) of US$ 1 billion by 2020, creation of 10,300 jobs, and secure an export of 45% of its GNI targets.
Raja Rozaimie Dalnish Shah, Acting Director General of FINAS said, “Malaysia is the perfect partner for international companies keen to co-produce high-quality content for a worldwide market. The country boasts state-of-the-art production facilities, a rich pool of multilingual talent with experience in visual effects and animation and a friendly, English-speaking & multicultural environment. The Malaysian Government also offers a wealth of financial support and incentives to Malaysian producers and even foreign partners.”