Financial PR network opens first Asia office

Located in Hong Kong, the office will operate as the agency's Asia headquarters, in a strategy aimed at improving FD's access to the mainland China and Taiwan markets. Diana Footitt, previously head of Citigate Dewe Rogerson's North Asia operations, has been appointed CEO for the region. "I am thrilled to be launching our Hong Kong office at an exciting time for Asia, and to be part of such a fast-paced and intellectual organisation," she said .

The move follows leading Hong Kong financial PR firm Strategic PR Group's move into Taiwan earlier this month -- although the firm will not immediately offer clients financial services -- and Ogilvy Public Relations' acquisition of a majority stake in iPR Asia (Media, September 9).

"We are seeing a growing demand from senior management teams for serious investor relations counsel and sophisticated transaction communications, particularly with increasing levels of M&A activity," Footitt said.

In Hong Kong, the financial PR sector is worth in excess of US$46 million in billings, with M&A deals in China netting $27 billion to date. But industry experts say there is plenty of room for growth, with a mature China market potentially five-times the size of the current US economy. They say the moves indicate a growing awareness of the market's potential among financial PR firms, and an increasing realisation from companies that professional financial services are becoming more necessary. "The question is not whether that business is there, the question is how fast is it going to materialise," said Tim Payne, managing partner Brunswick Group Hong Kong.

Hill & Knowlton Hong Kong has doubled its financial team over the last 12 months in response to the sector's growth. "If you just look at the number of IPOs in the market compared to a year or two ago, it has really picked up in the last year," said Denise Maguire, the office's MD.

Richard Tsang, chairman and managing director of Hong Kong's largest firm, Strategic , was less optimistic. "Things are not as good as people are saying this year," Tsang said, noting that Strategic had handled 31 IPOs for the year to date compared with as many as 100 a year previously.