Hainan to establish a 350-million-yuan sports fund

Hainan Province is set to establish a 350-million-yuan cultural sports industry development fund, according to a local eSports summit held on December 23.

As shown in a report by the Haikou Daily, the fund aims to help develop cultural sports industries like animation and eSports.

In 2016, digital creative industries have been included in China’s emerging industries plan for the first time, clearly encouraging local governments to grow the eSports industry. According to a data report, the eSports industry in China has reached 73.05 billion yuan, representing a 44.8% year-on-year growth.

Based on China Gaming Cyberport, a gaming industry project, the fund in Hainan was the first introduced in the year 2016. China has established the Cyberport at the Hainan Ecological Software Park, which has also attracted more than 400 companies including Tencent and Kunlun.

In August, China’s General Administration of Sports has signed a strategic cooperation framework agreement with the local Hainan government to grow their mass participation events, competitive sports, sports tourism, sports towns and sports lottery.

Source: Xinhua

Proofread by William Logsdon