The Hindu Business Line : Toonz signs pacts with Chinese universities

Hyderabad, May 14 Toonz Academy, a subsidiary of Toonz Entertainment Pte Ltd of Singapore, has set its eyes on the Chinese, the Gulf and Maldives markets to explore animation training and development opportunities there. Addressing a press conference here on Wednesday, Mr S. Ramprasad, Executive Director, said the company signed agreements with Beijing University, Shengyang University and Dalian University in China to open training institutes. Similarly, it was eyeing opportunities in Abu Dhabi and Maldives as well.

Mr Ramprasad was here in connection with the launch of its training facility in Hyderabad, the company’s fifth after Mumbai, Delhi, Nagpur and Thiruvananthapuram. He said the European Carolus Magnus University, promoted by European Economic Interest Group, would recognise the animation courses offered by the academy. “We will next go to Ahmedabad, Indore, Bangalore, Chennai and Coimbatore,” he said.

Growth projections

Quoting NASSCOM report, he pegged the animation industry at $869 million by 2010, witnessing a compounded growth of 25 per cent during 2006-2010. The Thiruvananthapuram-based company, which is also into content development, was working on Geet-Mahabharat, a 26-episode animation film based on the epic. “That will be ready by September 2008,” he added.

Turnover

The company registered a turnover of $4 million through its training wing. “We hope to reach $15 million this financial year as we are going to increase the number of facilities to 20 by the year,” he said.

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