Less than one-third of Cultural Industries Fund applications greenlighted

By
Stephanie Lai

Of the 300-plus applications received by the Cultural Industries Fund, only 86 have got the nod from Fund management – and some of these applicants have already given up the opportunity to secure a direct subsidy or loan to support their business as they found the approval process was “too long”, according to the head of the Fund’s administrative committee, Leong Heng Teng.
Following the launch of the application for the Fund from June to August last year a total of 321 applications were received, of which some 27 per cent, or 86 applications, have been approved by the Fund’s administrative committee and board of trustees, Mr. Leong said on public broadcaster TDM Chinese Radio on Saturday.
“…Of these 86 applications, 12 of them said they were backing out due to various reasons,” Leong said, “Some of them felt that the subsidy or loan amount was not sufficient, while others said our protracted approval had caused many amendments to their projects.”
Mr. Leong, who is also the Executive Council spokesperson, stressed that the approval process for the funding applications was detailed and scrupulous.
Locally-registered company applications – designated ‘creative design’, ‘cultural exposition and performance’, ‘art collection’ or ‘digital media’ – can seek to gain either a direct subsidy or interest-free loan from the Cultural Industries Fund, which was only launched last summer.
Fewer and fewer
According to Mr. Leong on Saturday, of the 86 approved applications, only five of the company applicants are now signing the funding agreements with the government.
The Cultural Industries Fund just launched another round of applications on March 31. So far, over 30 applications have been filed with the Fund, Mr. Leong told the public broadcaster.
He told media in late March that the Fund would strive to announce the approval result within 180 days following the date of a filed application.
Speaking to reporters earlier this month, the Secretary for Social Affairs and Culture, Alexis Tam Chon Weng, said he has already instructed a faster approval process for the Fund.
The Secretary also acknowledged a higher transparency for the Fund’s approval, saying there was a need to announce the names of the Fund’s members responsible for approving the project and of company applicants before both parties inked the funding agreement.