SINGAPORE, Nov. 12, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- China National Sports Group, and Leading Singapore investment and development firm, White Group signed a strategic cooperation deal at a signing ceremony held in Beijing on November 7, 2023, with the theme Connecting the World, Gathering Dreams, and Leading the Future. The deal outlines a plan to acquire the intellectual property (IP) of leading international sports events as well as complete global or Asia-Pacific commercial rights that will establish a sports format that is closely integrated with event IPs while creating a group of international-level stadiums and supporting facilities that will cater for the most popular sports.
China National Sports Group and Singapore’s White Group Ink Strategic Cooperation Deal to Accelerate Development of Sports Industry in China and Beyond
Peh Chin Hua, Chairman and CEO of White Group, Gu Haoning, Party Committee Secretary, Chairman and President of China National Sports Group, Wei Weige, Party Committee Deputy Secretary and Vice President of China National Sports Group, Qiu Qiangsheng, Party Committee Member and Vice President of China National Sports Group, Beijing China Tennis Sports Company General Manager Wei Shengfan, and representatives from White Group were all in attendance at the ceremony.
A new fund — the China-Singapore International Sports Industry Fund — will see Xinfang Huade Group investing an initial RMB1.4 billion and Chinese capital investing RMB600 million. This investment will be gradually increased moving forward according to the needs of the market and the fund will eventually top out at 6 billion yuan with investment from Xinfang Huade Group accounting for 4.2 billion yuan, and Chinese investment 1.8 billion yuan. Huati Private Equity will be the implementation entity and manager of this fund.
White Group's Chairman and CEO, Peh Chin Hua, said, "This strategic cooperation in the international sports industry between China and Singapore supports the idea that only by adhering to the spirit of sports, regardless of country, politics, race, religion, culture, language, rich or poor, can we together promote the international sports industry to empower it to achieve a more prosperous and rapid development. It is only through development can we make a more positive contribution to the friendship between China and Singapore."
Top-level events and stadium space are the core resources of the sports industry, but international high-quality event IPs are currently extremely scarce with high commercial valuations. China's professional sports industry was relatively late to the game, but its huge population advantage and economic development potential represent strong growth expectations in the event consumption market. The introduction, absorption, and localization of top international event IPs, coupled with first-class venue space and supporting formats, have excellent economic prospects and social benefits. White Group and China National Sports Group give full play to market mechanisms and laws while cultivating the sports industry and gathering the resources of leading enterprises in the Chinese sports industry, international sports IP channels. This, coupled with stable and abundant capital, will lay the groundwork to become pillars of this new China-Singapore International Sports Industry Fund.
Gu Haoning, Chairman and President of China National Sports Group, said in his speech, "Sport has the potential to transcend national boundaries, language, and cultural differences and the sports industry has become a massive market with increased health awareness and the popularity of sports events the main driving forces behind the rapid growth of the sports industry."
According to the agreement, the two parties will conduct extensive cooperation in the fields of sports event investment and operation management, integration of investment, construction and operation of sports venues and supporting facilities, sports technology, international sports industry funds, and sports derivative businesses. The two parties will work towards acquiring and operating top international event IPs through an industrial fund model and build a China-Singapore International Sports City in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area.
