Some world-famous personalities will attend the First International Cultural Industry Fair (ICIF) in Shenzhen from Nov. 18 through 22, it was announced Wednesday (July 14th).

They will include Zepherin Diabre, vice-secretary general of the United Nations, South Africa's reclusive Nobel laureate in biography J.M. Coetzee, American Nobel laureate in literature Toni Morrison, News Corp. Star TV China president Jamie Davis and Long Yongtu, secretary-general with the Bo'ao Forum.

More than 400 renowned national and international enterprise groups plan to attend the fair, including News Corp., NHK from Japan, Thomson from France, Sony, Panasonic, Fuji, Disney, USACSTV and RTHK.

Major TV stations throughout the country, such as CCTV, Beijing TV, Hunan TV and Zhejing Radio and TV Group, as well as renowned national cultural industry enterprises including Beijing University's Founder and Tongfang of Qinghua University will also attend. The China Software Industry Association will send a delegation of 100 cultural software group companies, said organizers.

"There are more than 3,000 radio and TV stations and more than 100 film studios, which produce film and TV scripts. A script famine has already appeared and it badly needs a regulated market to feed the big market," said an organizing official surnamed Ye.

"We will use the ICIF as a platform to buy some excellent scripts for making teleplays, while seeking market-oriented projects such as cartoon plays, Internet games, high definition TV equipment and new Internet technologies," Liu Ming, editor-in-chief of Shenzhen Radio and TV Group, told the conference.

Lin Luhua, general manager of Shenzhen Maiwer Cable TV Equipment Co., Ltd., signed on as an exhibitor at the fair immediately after the conference.

"It is a great opportunity for Shenzhen cultural industry companies that the fair will be held here. We can use this opportunity to display our products while learning from our counterparts and seeking business opportunities through interactive communications," she said.

According to latest statistics, revenue of cultural industry reached 13.5 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), accounting for 4.73 percent of Shenzhen's GDP last year.

Beijing, Shanghai and Shenzhen have been deemed three major publishing bases in China. Shenzhen Artron printed the Beijing's bidding report for the 2008 Olympics and Shanghai's bidding report for EXPO 2010.

Editor: Catherine