S’pore’s Rainbow studio branch pumps in $25m1 min read

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Italian animation studio, Rainbow will be putting in $25 million into its Singapore-based unit to create a virtual world based on the Winx Club franchise (you might be familiar with its recently released film).

This marks the biggest investment in Singapore’s history so far in this sector, and the studio expects to expand up to 100 staff members by 2011. It currently has 12 under its wings at its Smith Street studio, half of which are Singaporeans.

In a media briefing, CEO Iginio Straffi, also explained that the upcoming game would create a ‘multiplier effect’, creating another 200 or so jobs for external freelance artists.

Rainbow is one of Italy’s top animation company, with some 60 million Euros in sales annually. It has also licensed video games from giants such as Eidos and Activision to create games based on its Winx club license.

Rainbow picked Singapore due to its strong telecommunications infrastructure, strong intellectual property regime plus support from the local government. The company also has plans to expand its work to include animations for television and feature films.