CDIB Capital Group, a subsidiary of China Development Financial (CDF), established the CDIB Creative, Media and Entertainment(CME)Fund in 2013 to strengthen Taiwan's position in the cultural and creative industry. The CME fund invests in a variety of culture-related feature businesses in Taiwan, among them Kiko’s Enterprise, which is primarily engaged in fossil restoration and general science education.
CDIB Venture Capital Chairman Lawrence Liu said the cultural and creative industry in Taiwan should incorporate consumption in future development. In fact, when choosing investment targets for the CDIB CME Fund, the management team prefers companies that introduce cultural elements to household consumption. After all, the purpose of the CDIB CME Fund is to help local businesses enhance brand value and awareness among consumers in the EU, US and Asia-Pacific region by leveraging Taiwan’s cultural advantages for overseas expansion.
Ms. Nan Yi-jun, Executive Vice President of CDIB Capital Group, noted that the value of assets under management of the CDIB CME Fund is around NT$1.5 billion. In terms of portfolio weighting by sector, digital content is the highest at 35%, followed by fashion brands, media, dining, and creative tourism at a respective 25%, 16%, 13%, and 11%. Kiko’s Enterprise belongs to the creative tourism sector. Despite the multiple challenges in developing Taiwan’s cultural and creative industry, CDIB Capital Group is committed to creating diversified added value for investors by taking advantage of global industry connections. The CME fund hopes to help businesses monetize cultural content on a large scale, and ultimately create well-known Taiwanese brands that the country can be proud of.
Kiko’s Enterprise was established in 1997. The company chair, Mr. Hsiao Yu-fu, leads one of only a few fossil preservation and restoration teams in Asia that assists with the study of ancient cultures. Among the fossils that the company has restored are a 230 million-year-old Keichousaurus fetus and 70 million-year-old Oviraptor eggs. These discoveries support the hypotheses that marine reptiles were viviparous and birds were evolved from theropods. The team released a paper in collaboration with Dr. Cheng Yen-nien, who now works for the National Museum of Natural Science. The paper was accepted and compiled in the renowned Science journals of Ntture and Science. Since then, Kiko’s Enterprise has been recognized as a benchmark restorer and trader of fossils that is trusted by many collectors in the Greater China area. The firm operates several gift shops in Taiwan and China, and is expanding its distribution channel by working with more museums in both countries. Given the right conditions, Kiko’s Enterprise will go public. The flagship gift shop recently became operational, and Ms. Nan Yi-jun, Executive Vice President of CDIB Capital Group, and CDIB Venture Capital Chairman Lawrence Liu both attended the inauguration ceremony to show their support for Kiko’s Enterprise.