China Literature and Singtel Forge Strategic Partnership to Promote Online Literature in Southeast Asia

SINGAPORE, June 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- China Literature Limited ("China Literature" or "the Company") (Stock Code: 0772.HK), a leading online literature platform in China, today announced a strategic partnership with Singapore Telecommunications Limited ("Singtel"), a leading communications technology group in Asia, to collaborate in online literature services and content platform businesses in Southeast Asia.

Online literature content spanning themes such as martial arts, fantasy and video games has been growing in popularity in Southeast Asia. Popular titles such as Nirvana in Fire (琅琊榜) and Ever Night (将夜) were in great demand in Southeast Asia book stores, and intellectual property ("IP")-adapted TV series such as Legend of Fuyao (扶搖) have been well-received. At present, China Literature has nearly 10,000 writers in Southeast Asia, while the number of translators in the region accounts for over 70% of the Company's total overseas translators.

Both companies will jointly leverage their unique strengths to achieve greater business synergies, tapping on China Literature's position as a leading online literature platform and Singtel's digital and payment capabilities and combined reach of over 690 million mobile customers.

At a joint press event held this afternoon in Singapore, China Literature and Singtel announced that the two parties would cooperate in areas including content co-production, licensing and distribution, marketing and promotional activities and digital payment services. This will pave the way for users to access and subscribe to content from China Literature and its global content creation platform, Webnovel, on Singtel's digital applications such as its Dash mobile wallet. Meanwhile, Singtel's digital payment services like Dash and direct carrier billing will be integrated with China Literature's digital applications to facilitate payments for paid content.

Mr. Wu Wenhui, Co-Chief Executive Officer of China Literature stated, "From the cultivation of original literature to the development of IP derivatives, the online literature industry continues to create high-quality cultural products around the world. Southeast Asia is one of the key markets for online literature and Singapore is a confluence of Eastern and Western cultures. The strategic cooperation between China Literature and Singtel marks a new chapter of synergetic development of online literature in Southeast Asia. Looking to the future, China Literature and Singtel will leverage their respective advantages in content and platform, further promote cross-border integration of culture content, and explore potentials of new products and forms for online literature."

Mr. Arthur Lang, Chief Executive Officer of Singtel's International Group commented, "We've made quality content central to our strategy to build up a digital ecosystem of services across the region as our customers love great entertainment. One way we are doing so is through partnerships in new forms of content. Having recently introduced gaming, esports, mixed martial arts, we now look forward to bringing online literature to our customers, particularly millennials who enjoy user-generated content. Our collaboration with China Literature will further our efforts to drive user engagement and build communities with our digital apps and services. We hope to jointly grow online literature in the region and explore opportunities in a wide range of media formats and content delivery."

The partnership will also cover areas such as support for original content, and nurturing of writers, translators and editors, to enhance the development of quality content in Southeast Asia. Both parties will explore content adaptation, production and promotional activities on Singtel's video platforms.

About China Literature Limited

China Literature Limited is a pioneer in the online literature market and operates China's leading online literature platform. The Company owns nine major branded products. Among these, QQ Reading, a unified mobile content aggregation and distribution platform, is the flagship product. Other branded products focus on individual genres and their respective fan bases. China Literature's shareholder and strategic partner, Tencent, provides the Company with exclusive content distribution access via its suite of leading mobile and Internet products, including Mobile QQ, QQ Browser, Tencent News, Weixin Reading and Tencent Video. The Company also has distribution beyond the Tencent platforms by pre-installing Apps on handsets partners such as OPPO, Huawei and VIVO, as well as licensing content to third-party partners such as Baidu, Sogou, JD.com and Xiaomi Duokan. China Literature monetizes its vast and proprietary content library through online paid reading and content adaptations for a variety of entertainment formats. China Literature's diverse and high-quality content library is a significant competitive advantage that lies at the core of its business model. In 2018, China Literature further expanded its content capabilities downstream by acquiring New Classics Media, a renowned TV series, web series and film production company in China. For more information, please visit http://ir.yuewen.com/.  

About Singtel

Singtel is Asia's leading communications technology group, providing a portfolio of services from next-generation communication, technology services to infotainment to both consumers and businesses. For consumers, Singtel delivers a complete and integrated suite of services, including mobile, broadband and TV. For businesses, Singtel offers a complementary array of workforce mobility solutions, data hosting, cloud, network infrastructure, analytics and cyber-security capabilities. The Group has presence in Asia, Australia and Africa and reaches over 690 million mobile customers in 21 countries. Its infrastructure and technology services for businesses span 21 countries, with more than 428 direct points of presence in 362 cities. For more information, visit www.singtel.com. Follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/SingtelNews.

Contact

China Literature:
For investors / analysts:
Maggie Zhou
Tel: +8621 6187 0500 ext. 80605
Email: [email protected] 

For media:
Vivian Wang
Tel: +852 2232 3978
Email: [email protected] 

Singtel:
Chia Wan Fen
Manager, Group Strategic Comms and Brand, Singtel
Tel: +65 8218 6069
Email: [email protected]

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements relating to the industry and business outlook, forecast business plans and growth strategies of the Company. These forward-looking statements are based on information currently available to the Company and are stated herein on the basis of the outlook at the time of this press release. They are based on certain expectations, assumptions and premises, some of which are subjective or beyond our control. These forward-looking statements may prove to be incorrect and may not be realized in future. Underlying the forward-looking statements is a large number of risks and uncertainties. Further information regarding these risks and uncertainties is included in our other public disclosure documents on our corporate website.

SOURCE China Literature Limited