Riki Group, Alibaba Group and Russian Export Center sign a trilateral agreement on strategic partnership

11 September 2018, Vladivostok.  Riki Group, a leading Russian animation holding based in St. Petersburg, Chinese company Alibaba Cultural Media and Entertainment Group, an affiliate of world leading e-commerce holding Alibaba Group, and Russian Export Center JSC have signed an agreement on strategic partnership at Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok on the margins of the meeting of the President of the Russian Federation, Mr. Vladimir Putin and the President of the People’s Republic of China, Mr. Xi Jinping.

The agreement was signed by General Producer of Riki Group, Mr Ilya Popov, General Director of YouKu Animation Center, Alibaba Cultural Media and Entertainment Group, Mr Sun Geng and General Director of Russian Export Center JSC, Mr Andrey Slepnev.

The parties have agreed to cooperate at a strategic level in the spheres of financing, production, promotion and distribution in China and the rest of the world of new animated content produced in Russia and licensed products and merchandise associated with this content.  The main platform for promotion of new media projects in China will be YouKu, the biggest video hosting service in China, which is owned by Alibaba Group.

“We continue our cooperation with the biggest Chinese companies on co-production of new content, which has started a year ago with “Panda and Krash” series.  By signing this extensive agreement with Alibaba Group we increase and strengthen our presence in the Chinese market, - comments VP, International business development and distribution of Riki Group, Mrs Diana Yurinova. – We are launching a pool of several animation projects, which are expected to be equally interesting not only for our two countries, but for the rest of the world too.  Alibaba Group is a strong strategic partner, which will allow to introduce our newly co-produced content with maximum coverage to the Chinese audience, whose requirements for the quality of kids content are growing every year.”

“YouKu pays particular attention to our partnership and collaboration with Riki Group.  We hope that our work together opens new opportunities for efficient cooperation in the sphere of animation industry of China and Russia, - notes General Director of YouKu Animation Center, Albaba Cultural Media and Entertainment Group, Mr Sun Geng.

“International co-production and distribution in the sphere of content production is one of the most important spheres of international business development.  Russian Export Center actively supports export oriented projects, which can strengthen Russia's positive image abroad.  Partnership of Riki Group and Alibaba Group on development, production and distribution in China and the rest of the world of new animated content created in Russia will reinforce and significantly increase business exchanges of both of our countries,” – says Head of Russian Export Center, Mr Andrey Slepnev.

The Forth Eastern Economic Forum is taking place on the campus of Far Eastern Federal University (FEFU) on Russky Island (Vladivostok, Ajax Bay) on September 11 – 13, 2018 in Vladivostok .

RIKI GROUP is a leading animation holding in Russia specializing in animation production, licensing, distribution, and promotion of animation brands for a family audience.  Established in 2003, Riki Group has been a leader in Russian animation and licensing market for 15 years with 100% brands recognition rate among family audiences. Riki Group is internationally famous for its flagship IP’s: Kikoriki, BabyRiki, and PINCODE.

Alibaba Cultural Media and Entertainment Group is an affiliate of Alibaba Group, which specializes in cultural and entertainment sphere.  As part of the main strategic line of Alibaba Group “Joy + Health”, Alibaba Cultural Media and Entertainment Group is responsible for realization of “Joy” program for the upcoming several decades and also selects and acquires the content for the biggest Chinese video service YouKu.

Russian Export Center JSC is a State-owned development institute established by the Government to support the development of the non-commodity exports industry/sector. REC offers a wide range of financial and non-financial support tools to benefit the Russian exporters explore the foreign markets and build capacity in the global trade. REC also acts as a focal point for interaction with the relevant domestic ministries and agencies and cooperates with key industries and business players in Russia to improve the export conditions in Russia and help bypass trade barriers.