SINGAPORE : Home-grown Axiom Technologies has launched Southeast Asia's first Blu-ray disc replication line in Singapore. It is investing about S$7 million into the new production facility.

Demand for blu-ray discs is expected to grow amid the push towards high definition video.

Viewing movies at home is soon set to change - as high definition videos take centrestage.

Blu-ray discs offer consumers more features, interactivity and clearer audio visuals compared to CDs or DVDs. A Blu-ray disc offers five times the storage capacity of a DVD.

It is estimated that 180 million units of Blu-ray discs will be shipped into the market this year.

And Axiom is ready to be part of that growing demand with its new production facility. Its new plant offers high definition content production, preparation and Blu-ray disc authoring.

Bernard Goh, Managing Director, Axiom Technologies, said: "We believe that the market is poised for growth at this point in time. Having made this initial investment of S$7 million, we foresee that in the years to come, the growth will be exponential and we will invest as much as an additional S$30 million into this new format."

Axiom expects to produce up to two million Blu-ray discs this year. And it is looking to boost capacity to 35 million discs annually within the next five years.

Overall, consumer spending on Blu-ray discs is expected to exceed US$10 billion by 2012.

Foreign Affairs Minister George Yeo said: "Axiom's multi-million dollar investment in Blu-ray technology will help keep Singapore at the forefront of the global media industry.

Singapore's advantage lies in its protection of intellectual property, its excellent logistics infrastructure and its strong precision engineering base.

Early this year, big names like Warner Brothers, Universal Studios Entertainment and Paramount Home Entertainment announced that their high definition movies will be published in Blu-ray format only. - CNA/ms