Malaysia's film development body Perbadana Kemajuan Filem Nasional Malaysia (FINAS) is in talks with China's Fujian Film Studio about establishing a joint co-production venture.

According to Mahammad Nor Abu Shahid, FINAS' director of film development, FINAS is planning a 10-member delegation to visit the Chinese film studio in Fujian province in October after holding preliminary meetings in Hong Kong yesterday.

'It is an exciting development,' he said, as 'it will be the first time that FINAS joins forces with a production unit in China'.

Mahammad added that the 50:50 joint venture would be likely to be headquartered in Hong Kong for the production of feature films targeted for the international markets. The two parties will study details of the joint venture during the October visit with the possibility of signing a memorandum of understanding.

FINAS exhibited at Filmart in Hong Kong last week, representing five Malaysian production and distribution companies. These include Sendi Mutiara, Media Space, Metrowealth, VTC Film Production and Makmur Megah.

FINAS came to know Fujian Film Studio through Makmur Megah, which distributes Chinese-language films purchased from the Fujian company in Malaysia.

A recent project co-produced by FINAS is Adman Salleh-directed Paloh, a government-funded film released in Malaysia in July.