PETALING JAYA: Star Media Group Berhad (SMG) and Hainan Daily Press Group, a Mandarin daily based in Hainan Province, China, have signed a memorandum of strategic cooperation (MOSC) to strengthen their collaboration.
Prior to this, SMG and Hainan Daily Press Group had jointly produced five documentaries from June to July under the theme “New Land-Sea Opportunities: Investing in Hainan Free Trade Port (FTP)”, and they yielded good results, according to SMG chairman Tan Sri Wong Foon Meng.
“The documentaries recorded more than four million views.
“As Hainan FTP and the strategic relationship between China and Malaysia continues to grow, today’s MOSC signing can strengthen our collaboration and bring more interaction opportunities to media organisations in both countries.
“With the MOSC, we look forward to stronger collaborations in content interactions, multimedia productions and international branding,” he said as SMG hosted Hainan Daily Press Group’s courtesy visit to Menara Star in Petaling Jaya, Selangor on Aug 28, where the MOSC was signed.
Meanwhile, SMG group chief executive officer (CEO) Chan Seng Fatt expressed his hope that more people can be introduced to Hainan FTP through the strong experience of the two media organisations in the market.
“China’s business activities are a key regional economic engine. Hainan FTP can further enhance China’s position.
“China is also one of Malaysia’s most important trading partners. Businesses in both countries can utilise Hainan FTP to further leverage themselves,” he said.
Also present was Hainan Daily Press Group president Shang Lin, who listed four main goals he wishes to achieve through the MOSC.
“First of all, we would like to produce more quality content and enhance our brands together. We can jointly produce more documentaries or feature stories about various topics such as economy and trade, culture, tourism and education.
“We also hope to hold more events together to provide both Malaysian and Chinese businesses a platform for collaboration. With SMG’s strong influence in Malaysia’s political and business spectrums and Hainan FTP’s role as China’s gateway to Asean nations, I believe this can be achieved.
“We also wish to strengthen our collaboration in integrated media development and innovation. As the media landscape evolves, we should go beyond traditional newspapers and venture into new media platforms, so we would also like to explore more transition pathways together with SMG on this,” he said.
He also expressed his hope for the MOSC to mark the beginning of a stronger communications framework between SMG and Hainan Daily Press Group.
Among several other SMG representatives were chief operating officer Lydia Wang and chief content officer Datin Paduka Esther Ng.
Meanwhile, representatives from Hainan included Hainan Daily editorial committee member and economic news department director Wu Zhuo, Hainan International Media Centre (HIMC) CEO Chen Shuhuan, HIMC deputy director Jin Changbo, HIMC English language host Zheng Ziwei, HIMC Asean Centre director Li Chengchao, HIMC Asean Centre international liaison officer Dong Yanbo and HIMC photographer Cao Zhi.
The guests also visited the 988 radio studio after signing the MOSC and discussing the collaboration.
