Economy

Online Video Market to Hit US $11.6 Billion

The value of the online video market in China is projected to exceed RMB 80 billion（about US $11.6 billion） by the end of this year， according to Guduo Media， a Beijingbased data analysis firm. It hailed 2017 as the start of the “golden era” for online videos in its newly released white paper on the web content industry.

The market – which includes online dramas， entertainment shows and films –generated RMB 60 billion in 2016， a 55.9 percent increase over the previous year. The figure is expected to surge to RMB 85.6 billion by the end of 2017， according to the report. The online drama segment alone will see RMB 50 billion in revenues by 2020.

Amid rapid growth in the popularity of the Internet and smartphones， more and more people are opting to watch videos online rather than on TV. The report said the number of online video watchers in China approached 550 million by December last year.

The report also said that the quality of online programs has improved， attracting a fast-growing audience. In 2016， Chinas 10 online drama platforms showed 349 dramas. The number of online video shows grew by 226 percent last year from 2015， with some popular shows notching 2 billion views.

The number of subscribers to online dramas in China is also projected to increase dramatically over the next two years. A large survey in early 2017 found over half of viewers were willing to pay to watch online dramas and entertainment shows， while 29 percent were willing to pay for movies on demand.

China a Top Destination for Risk Investment in Asia

China remains a top destination for risk investment in Asia， with US $3.6 billion invested in Q1 of 2017， accounting firm KPMG said in its Venture Pulse report.

The volume increased by US $100 million from the previous quarter， according to the report on risk investment trends.

KPMGs analysis pointed out that investors in Asia are becoming more cautious， with a noticeable decline in the total number of deals from 403 in Q4 of 2016 to 258 in Q1 of 2017. However， this did not prevent new landmarks being reached： Chinas bike-sharing platform ofo raised US $450 million， the largest bike-sharing investment on record.

Chinese risk investment in newly-established enterprises overseas will continue to focus on deep technology such as artificial intelligence， as well as environmental protection and medical technology （medtech）， the report said.

In terms of sectors， the first quarter of 2017 saw a significant amount of interest in medtech globally， particularly in the United States， Israel and Canada. The Asian medtech market has yet to fully take off， the report noted， but the potential is significant given the large consumer base.

Tech areas such as artificial intelligence， big data， cognitive learning and robotics are expected to continue to receive strong attention. Healthcare technology， financial technology （fintech） and e-commerce are also expected to be strong sectors in Asia， according to the report.

Biotech Boom

In April， Chinas Ministry of Science and Technology （MOST） issued a special plan for biotechnology innovation as part of the 13th Five-Year Plan， which predicts that Chinas biotech sector will exceed four percent of the nations GDP by 2020.

According to the plan， China is set to make some major achievements in biotechnology by 2020， which will promote its development in fields including pharmaceuticals， agriculture， resources， and environmental protection.

A large number of new technologies， such as genetic engineering， have emerged with Chinas rapid development in biotechnology in recent years， said Zhang Zhaofeng from MOSTs Science and Technology for Social Development Department.

He added that by 2020， China will have built 10 to 20 science parks for biomedicine with annual output worth more than RMB 10 billion. For the past five years， China has ranked second in the world in terms of published biotech papers and patent applications.

But Chinas biotech development faces some hurdles as the country still lacks original scientific discoveries and disruptive technologies.

Boosting Recycling of Resources for Green Growth

An action plan to boost the recycling industry amid efforts to promote green and sustainable growth was jointly released by 14 Chinese agencies， including the National Development and Reform Commission and the Ministry of Science and Technology. It said China aims to increase the value of the resource recycling industry to RMB 3 trillion （about US $434.8 billion） by 2020.

According to the plan， the resource productivity ratio should rise by 15 percent from the 2015 level， and the recycling utilization ratio for major waste should reach 54.6 percent by 2020. The comprehensive utilization ratio of industrial solid waste should reach 73 percent. About 75 percent of national industrial parks and 50 percent of provincial industrial parks should be recycling-based.

Efforts will also be made to reduce waste discharge， and to promote coordination between garbage classification and renewable resource recycling. The plan said that the utilization ratio of the reclaimed water in cities suffering from water scarcity should reach at least 20 percent. Online platforms for renewable resources recycling will be established in over 30 percent of prefecture-level cities， with the annual volume of business transactions surpassing RMB 500 billion.

Through these efforts， China hopes to foster a green， low-carbon development model to encourage the public to make their lifestyles and consumption greener.

The plan came as the Chinese government intensifies efforts to address rampant pollution and build a greener economy for the long-term good.