China’s VSOCloud Sets Up SE Asia Joint Venture With Malaysia’s KRU

By Patrick Frater

LOS ANGELES (Variety.com) – Chinese entertainment tech firm VSOCloud has set up a joint venture company in Malaysia, with Prodigital Lab, part of leading local production and services firm KRU.

The new VSOCloud Southeast Asia will use the Suzhou-based Chinese parent’s rendering and crowd-sourcing platform to provide rendering services to film, animation and other creative businesses in South East Asia. It will be based at KRU’s existing facilities in the Bukit Jalil district of Kualu Lumpur and open its doors from July 1. The new company will also promote co-production and VSOCloud‘s Agile Shot production process management solutions.

“In 2018, VSO supported us to complete our animation film ‘Wheely,’ which was released in over 80 countries, with their high-end rendering services on a very short production timeline and at affordable prices,” said Norman Abdul Halim, president of KRU Group.

“This is the beginning of an exciting new era for the Malaysian animation/film industry, and marks a significant milestone in the -China relationship,” said Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri, newly appointed CEO of Malaysian film regulator FINAS. “High-end rendering services are very much needed to deliver world-class visual effects and animation content. We hope this relationship will expand to other forms of collaboration in areas of co-financing, coproduction and distribution.”

Other mainland Chinese entertainment service companies are also beginning to expand beyond Greater China. That reflects their growing scale and sophistication, and also the rising cost of skilled labor within China. Beijing-based BaseFX is also building a VFX facility in Kuala Lumpur.

“With KRU’s knowledge and strong support from VSO China, the newborn VSOCloud Southeast Asia will have a bright future that will also benefit everyone in the region,” VSOCloud founder Lu Yongquan said in a statement.