GUANGZHOU, China--()--From November 20 to 22, the 2024 Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Cultural Industry Investment Conference convened in Guangzhou, bringing together representatives from financial institutions, industry associations, investment firms, listed companies, and cultural technology enterprises.

The conference, themed “Cultural Finance Empowering the Greater Bay Area: Industry and Technology Reinforcing Each Other,” featured key investment initiatives and showcased innovative cultural technologies. Highlights included projects such as the film Fall Into the Mortal World, virtual digital museum characters, and advancements in humanoid robotics. The event also introduced cultural products with strong intellectual property potential, underscoring the region’s progress in digital cultural industries.

Key cultural hubs like Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Macao leveraged their abundant resources to highlight developments in artificial intelligence-generated content (AIGC), digital production, and smart cultural manufacturing. These efforts contribute to a dynamic ecosystem that supports new forms of cultural consumption and digital creativity.

The conference unveiled two significant reports: the 2024 Cultural Industry Investment Report and the 2024 Trends Report on Cultural Industry Investment in the Greater Bay Area. These analyses provided data-driven insights into financing and investment opportunities, revealing that cultural industry financing in the Greater Bay Area reached approximately 52.82 billion yuan over the past five years. Guangdong’s cultural sector, with an annual growth rate exceeding 10%, continues to lead China in both scale and revenue.

In 2023, culture-related enterprises in Guangdong generated 2.2483 trillion yuan in revenue, accounting for one-seventh of the national total. Shenzhen alone contributed over 1 trillion yuan, reflecting the region’s strong performance in cultural manufacturing, which makes up nearly half of the sector’s revenue.

Guangdong is a global leader in niche cultural segments such as gaming, animation, and creative design. The province produces 80% of China’s gaming and amusement equipment, with Guangzhou commanding 20% of the global market for gaming machines and Dongguan leading in animation derivative production. Additionally, Guangdong dominates national revenues in gaming (80%), digital music (25%), digital publishing (20%), and animation (33%), highlighting its competitive edge.