Investments in the entertainment industry and innovation have led to tremendous achievements over the past five years in China, according to a leading consultancy in the venture capital and private equity industry.

From 2008 to 2012, the media and entertainment industry secured 243 investment deals. The Internet game industry garnered 134 such deals and the education and training industry gained 87, according to Beijing-based Zero2IPO Group in a report released on Saturday in Beijing.

"Although the total investment volume in (venture capital) and in (private equity) this year declined about 50 to 60 percent year-on-year, investments in such sectors of entertainment and innovation have not decreased. It is expected that investments in these sectors will increase in the following years," said Gavin Ni, founder and CEO of Zero2IPO Group.

There will be at least 11 companies in the entertainment industry and innovation that will push for a Chinese stock market listing by the end of 2013, according to the report. Market revenue for this so-called "culture industry" will rise to about 900 billion yuan ($144 billion) by the end of 2015.

The major incentive for the increased investments has been the rapid development of the industry, the report said.

In the film industry, for instance, revenue increased to 17.27 billion yuan in 2011 from 8.43 billion yuan in 2008. Revenue for the culture and education industries is collectively expected to rise to 960 billion yuan by the end of 2012 from 680 billion yuan in 2009, the report said.

Chen Hang, managing director of the China Culture Industrial Investment Fund, said there are some advantage for companies in the culture industry, such as favorable government policies.

The film and animation industry will become a major target of investments in the near future, said the report.

Qiu Liping, co-founder of a venture capital and private equity firm Milestone Capital, said the company has attached great importance to the development of the culture industry because of its massive potential.

"With the development of technologies, there have been great changes in people's lives in terms of how they are entertained. It is very likely that some entertainment sectors, especially those that are innovative and who cater to the needs of customers, will create large companies," Qiu said.

He said Milestone began to invest in the culture industry this year, though other investors are still being discreet in their desire to invest in the industry.

Zeng Zhijie, senior managing director of Citic Capital, said the culture industry domestically has yet to become fully developed.

"Take the film sector for instance. Compared with their US counterparts, Chinese film companies still lack the ability to make profits from offering services and products at every sector of the whole industry chain. It is still a long way to go for us to catch up with US producers in terms of this aspect," Zeng said.

"To promote this industry's sound development, government, financing institutions, and VC and PE companies, should cooperate to make the industry chain complete and coordinated," he said.

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