Mr Kadokawa, Chairman and Chief Executive of Kadokawa Group, hopes to access the mainland market via Hong Kong
	HKTDC's Raymond Yip outlines the benefits of Cepa in paving the way for Japanese business

Hong Kong-based Kadokawa Intercontinental Publishing Asia (KIPA) recently launched its lifestyle and infotainment magazine series from Japan. Hong Kong Walker introduces the city's restaurants, shops and fashion to its readers.
 
KIPA was set up in Hong Kong in June by the Tokyo-listed publisher Kadokawa Group and Hong Kong film distributor Intercontinental Group Holdings to publish light novels, comics, books and Hong Kong Walker magazine. According to media reports, it plans to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange sometime in 2009 to raise about HK$720 million (US$92.4 million) for the expansion of its media business in the Chinese mainland.

Tsuguhiko Kadokawa, Chairman and Chief Executive of Kadokawa Group who was in Hong Kong for the launch of the leisure guide, said that the mainland publication market has huge potential. Through Hong Kong, the group hopes to introduce the Walker series to the mainland.

"We have spent HK$90 million (US$11.5 million) as initial investment in this Hong Kong bi-weekly magazine, targeting a circulation of 150,000 to 200,000 within the first two years," said Mr Kadokawa. "We are planning a mainland version too."

Co-operative opportunities

Assistant Executive Director of the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) Raymond Yip, who was invited by Mr Kadokawa to give a speech at the Walker launch, said that Mr Kadokawa had always supported the film industry and the creative arts in the city. At this year's Film and TV Market (Filmart) held in March, the Kadokawa Group held film screenings of Japanese movies at the Filmart Expo and hosted a cocktail event to network and explore opportunities for co-operation.

Earlier in 2004, Mr Yip had spoken about the benefits of the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (Cepa) to Mr Kadokawa. Subsequently in 2005, Kadokawa Holdings managed to gain a foothold in the huge mainland market through business tie-ups with Intercontinental Group Holdings and through Cepa. (Cepa paves the way for Japanese media giant).

"Mr Kadokawa is very positive about his joint venture with a Hong Kong partner. His strategy is to use the Hong Kong platform to access the mainland and Asian markets and the launch of the Walker magazine is bringing this business strategy one step nearer," added Mr Yip. "We hope the success of the Kadokawa Group will enable more joint ventures between Japanese and Hong Kong companies."

In October this year, Mr Kadokawa attended a business seminar organised by the HKTDC in Tokyo where he gave a talk to a group of Japanese businessmen on "Expansion to China by using Hong Kong as a gateway." He used the Kadokawa partnership with Intercontinental Group Holdings as a case study to access the mainland market.
  
Kadokawa Holdings started in Japan in 1945. Today, the company commands a leading position in Japan's multi-media market and was the first cross-media corporation to be listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Kadokawa's operations include film production and distribution, print publications, game development, cinema management and information technology.