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NHNZ has reaffirmed its commitment to factual television production in China with the promotion of Lauren Wang to its Director of China Operations this week.

Ms Wang is based at NHNZ's Beijing office and replaces Rachel Yu who left the company to join Microsoft. Ms Wang brings a wealth of experience to NHNZ in both finance and television production management and, has previously worked for Sony Pictures Entertainment and Viacom Asia Inc.

NHNZ managing director Michael Stedman said he was delighted with the appointment.

"I'm thrilled that Lauren has agreed to accept the position in a period of significant growth for NHNZ in China. NHNZ is now making more documentaries about China than any other foreign documentary production company in the world."

Investing in permanent China-based staff and developing strong relationships with Government agencies and broadcasters over the past decade was paying dividends for the New Zealand-based production company which currently has nine hours of documentary in production in China.

Mr Stedman said NHNZ was well positioned to capitalize on the global appetite for documentaries made in and about China.

"NHNZ has put considerable energy and effort into building strong personal relationships in China as a foundation to our success in that area. As a result we're in the privileged position of having strong and enduring ties with China.

"The region is a rich source of stories and also presents exciting opportunities for new markets as China undergoes rapid economic growth."

Ms Wang joined NHNZ in 2004 as senior operations manager in China. This role has been filled by Felix Feng and provides a link between the company's production crews and their Chinese colleagues as well as liaising with Chinese broadcasters, local authorities and film festival organizers.