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SCMP Reporter

GOLDEN Harvest, which helped to launch kung fu comedy king Jackie Chan to stardom, wants to duplicate that box-office success with a stock exchange listing to help finance regional film distribution.

  The film producer and distributor is best known for its blockbuster hits starring Jackie Chan - Drunken Master and Police Story.

  The company is still in discussions with the stock exchange and has not finalised the pricing or size of the offer, but it is understood it hopes to raise about $250 million, which would give it a market capitalisation of $1 billion.

  Golden Harvest aims to list its distribution division which controls nearly 150 cinema screens in Asia, while the film production side of the business will remain private.

  The issue is being underwritten by Wardley, and may well turn out to be the biggest initial public offering since Vitasoy International Holdings was listed in March.

  Yesterday, a spokesman for Golden Harvest, Russell Cawthorne, refused to comment on the listing except to say that it was an option being considered.

  Golden Harvest has the world's second largest contemporary Chinese film library, with more than 350 titles. This year it announced it had licensed the rights to many of the films to STAR TV for an undisclosed sum.

  But the biggest part of the group's operations are the cinemas.

  'We have developed our distribution network in Asia for many years and feel that we are very knowledgeable in these markets,' Mr Cawthorne said.

  Golden Harvest dominates film distribution in Asia through the number of screens it controls. It runs four circuits in Hong Kong, including the number one English and Chinese-language chains.

  Mr Cawthorne said: 'Our distribution network is so powerful in the region that we work closely with producers on what gets made.'   He added that Asia was also a very profitable market with some of the highest per capita movie-going audiences in the world and some of the highest screen revenues.

  Golden Harvest also has growing operations in Southeast Asia.

  In Singapore, the company owns and operates two multiplex cinemas with a joint-venture party, and is developing a third. By next year the company will have 18 screens in Singapore.

  In Malaysia, the company operates 40 screens, while in Thailand it operates two multiplex cinemas each with about 12 screens.

  Mr Cawthorne signalled that China was the next big market for Golden Harvest. The company has outlined very ambitious expansion plans on the mainland which will require a lot of funding.

      In October last year, the company signed a joint-venture agreement with China Film Import-Export Corp to build cinemas in the country.

  The company said it had plans to build 100 cinemas and multiplexes on the mainland, with sites already identified in Shanghai, Zhengzhou and Qingdao.

  Golden Harvest began in 1970 as a film production company but quickly expanded into film distribution.



Drunken Master producer seeks box-office success on exchange