media - 'New' restraints means business as usual
I just went over the new media regulations, provided by Chinabiz, issued by the State Council on Monday. I find it very hard to notice anything new here. Of course, many exciting dreams of would-be or real media moguls are smashed but you can hard blame the State Council for the dreams outside their Beijing offices.
All sections of the media are included, except the distribution of print media. In the past decade much private money, more than foreign money, has flooded into the media sector although that was technically illegal. Government departments lower in the food chain reiterated the existing bans. The only really new about the latest regulation is that now the highest administrative body has re-issued that ban on non-public capital entering the media.
Keeping foreign money out will be relatively easy and at this stage it seems wise to make a quiet exit, trying to secure invested money. Getting rid of private money from domestic sources seems harder to deal with; I do not expect more than a temporary halt although new listings might be tough at this stage. Sticking to the current restrictions on the media seems odd, now it is almost the last sector that is not open for non-public money while its needs it more than ever.
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