Shares in GHY Culture & Media Holding XJB opened at 43 cents on April 26, 0.5 cent higher or 1.176% up after it announced that its indirect associated company, Tianjin Changxin Film & Media, entered into a co-production agreement with NASDAQ-listed iQIYI.
Under the agreement, both parties have agreed to co-produce a web drama series titled "Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty 2: To the West”. The series will be filmed and produced in 2023.
The prequel, “Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty”, made its broadcast debut in September 2022 and was said to have trended on China’s major mainstream social media platforms, which generated significant readerships with positive reviews. Another spin-off short-form drama series, "Su Wuming of the Tang Dynasty", had also yielded good ratings and reviews, says GHY.
In addition, GHY has developed an “intellectual property (IP) franchise” business strategy that will serve as the future roadmap for its drama and film production business activities. According to the company, this is done to “maximise the potential and economic value of its IP portfolio”.
“The ‘IP Franchise’ business strategy aims to create innovative content whilst retaining continuity, in order to make each production a recognisable part of a coherent franchise. Encouraged by the success and popularity of these drama series under ‘Strange Tales of Tang Dynasty’, GHY has identified the supernatural genre as part of this business strategy,” says the company.
The co-production agreement with iQIYI is not expected to impact GHY’s earnings per share (EPS) or net tangible assets (NTA) per share materially for the FY2023 ending Dec 31.
