India, China bulwarks of ad industry in Asia

Friday, 14 February 2003, 20:30 IST
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KATHMANDU: Traditional trade rivals India and China were the bulwarks of the advertising industry in Asia even as the business hit the doldrums globally after the September 11 attacks, says a leading ad executive. The attacks on the World Trade Centre and corporate scandals fuelled a slump in the global industry, but markets in Asia have shown "surprising maturity and resilience", said Miles Colebrook, president of ad agency J Walter Thompson. He credited India and China with a large part of the resilience. Thompson was speaking during a visit to Kathmandu, where his group has a local alliance. Colebrook said India, the seventh largest market for the agency with nearly 700 employees, helped it perform better. So did China, with Thailand a close third. Nepal, despite being a developing nation, has potential, according to the ad guru. However, political uncertainty is a key factor why the full potential of several Asian countries can't be fully tapped. "Political stability is key to economic growth," he told a local daily. "My feelings, after speaking to the diplomatic community in Nepal can be defined as cautiously optimistic." The advantage in India, where the market is two and a half times as large as the Chinese one, is its skill and intelligence. But China promises to catch up in the next five years by sheer dint of its drive and efficiency. Colebrook would like a synergy between the two nations' traits. "Then we might have an unbeatable combination," he reportedly said.
Source: IANS