Taiwan’s Kaohsiung Software Technology Park may become the country’s research and development base for digital animation with a planned investment partially supported by Hollywood celebrity George Lucas.
According to Shen Rong-jin, director-general of the Export Processing Zone Administration under the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taipei-based 3-D animation studio CGCG Inc. will set up shop in the park in early February.
CGCG has taken part in many animation works, including 3-D TV series “Star Wars: the Clone Wars,” and sources familiar with the issue revealed that the firm is 43-percent owned by Lucas, creator of the blockbuster “Star Wars” movie series.
CGCG Chairman Shih Wen-hsiang declined to comment on the details of the investment, saying that his firm is relocating part of its workforce to southern Taiwan because of “the abundant creativity potential waiting to be developed” in the region. The Kaohsiung office will engage in 3-D animation production for the “Star Wars” series, he added.
The new operation will be supported by some 100 professionals. The firm will also work with local colleges and universities in the region to help cultivate talent and develop the park into an R&D center for the sector.
In related news, Shen said MOEA-backed promotion campaigns have seen the technology park’s occupancy rate go up to 80 percent. As of Jan. 6, the park has accepted 167 business plans totaling NT$15.1 billion (US$510 million) in public and private investment.
The MOEA expects the park to create 5,000 jobs, with total output amounting to NT$12 billion by 2013. (THN)
Write to Meg Chang at meg.chang@mail.gio.gov.tw