Singapore-trained lawyer Khoo Shao Tze and a group of fellow
investors have started up a new company which they hope will raise the
standards of television programming across the Asia-Pacific region.
The Hong Kong-based company, First Asia Entertainment Production, plans
to produce up to 400 hours of programming in its first year of operation
through production houses in the SAR, Taiwan, Malaysia, Japan and
Singapore.
The programming will be sold to free-to-air TV, pay and satellite
television and broadband operators throughout the region.
Mr Khoo said that a company like First Asia Entertainment was needed
because the booming Asian media industry had resulted in an "abundance
of lackluster programming in the region".
"A significant proportion of the money being poured into the television
and broadband media has gone into hardware, however, a lot of the
companies involved have limited or no production capacity," he told
MEDIA.
"To address this situation, we have recruited an elite team of producers
and scriptwriters across Asia. With our independent productions funded
by generous production budgets and a company ethos rooted in
professionalism, we are confident of fulfilling our promise to Asian
audiences - quality content first and foremost."
Mr Khoo - who practised law in international law firms in Hong Kong and
Singapore and sat on the boards of a number of listed firms in Malaysia
over the past 10 years - said that the company would initially
concentrate on producing lifestyle programmes and various documentaries
but not current affairs. At a later date, First Asia Entertainment would
strike out and start producing drama series as well.
Mr Khoo acknowledged that producing about 400 hours of programming in
the first year didn't sound like much, however, he stressed that he was
aiming for quality and not quantity.
