Chinese private broadcaster emerges in Africa(2)

LOW PRICE, LOW PROFILE

Pang said that before he entered the African market in 2007, TV was unreasonably expensive there.

A veteran electronic engineer, he said StarTimes' low-price strategy was made possible through a strong technical team and more than 20 years of expertise in the sector. Enforcing the same set of standards in the originally fragmented Pan-African market has also helped to reduce costs.

For small-screen mobile digital TV devices, StarTimes has been able to push for the use of the China-developed CMMB standard in nine African countries.

But StarTimes' major regional rival -- DStv of South African media company MultiChoice -- quickly adjusted its market strategy in response, slashing prices and launching a new platform called GOTV to counter StarTimes, Pang said.

The Chinese entrepreneur said his philosophy is "to keep my head down so the sector's dominating players won't pay attention," but as the company rapidly expands, it has been difficult not to make a splash.

Last December, the China-Africa Development (CAD) fund, a Chinese equity fund focusing on Africa, agreed to invest in StarTimes' African digital broadcasting project.

Chi Jianxin, the fund's president, said it will be the fund's first deal in the cultural sector since it started operating in 2007. More than 100 million U.S. dollars have been invested in the project.

"The fund is not a form of foreign aid. We operate on market terms, so we only invest in projects with good commercial sustainability," he said.

A report on the fund's investment, written by the fund's senior managers, indicates that the project involves an investment of 300 million U.S. dollars.

"It is the largest Chinese cultural sector investment in Africa," said the report, compiled in the 2012 Yellow Book on Africa by the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. "The project aims to reach 25 African countries with a subscription base of 7 million people in the next five years."

Chi said the fund, which has pledged 2 billion U.S. dollars for China-Africa cooperative projects, will continue to support StarTimes' initiative to bring digital TV to more African families in more countries.