FOCUS: YEAR-END REVIEWS - Chrysler loss to cause minimal impact to regional ops: FCB

<p>This was a great year for FCB Asia-Pacific. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The merger that brought Bozell and FCB together in fourth quarter 1999 </p><p>really took off in 2000. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The benefits of the merger were more than we had hoped. </p><p>Specifically: </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Tremendous new business growth </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Critical mass in key countries </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>- Good retention of key employees </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>New business included a number of wins - locally, regionally and </p><p>internationally. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>At the top of the list was Compaq. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>This business, in addition to its incremental revenue, validated what </p><p>FCB Worldwide has been building for the past five years - a truly first </p><p>class global network. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>One of the key criteria in deciding on the right agency was the level of </p><p>internal IT development the competing networks had. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We came out on top on this. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, having said that, Compaq will challenge us to continue to </p><p>strengthen those IT skills - which is good! </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Other worldwide wins included Clairol and Boeing. On the local and </p><p>regional front, there were also some notable wins: Gatorade and AOL in </p><p>Australia, Standard Chartered Bank's Internet banking in Hong Kong, </p><p>Timberland in Japan, Bombay Stock Market in India, Cadbury in Indonesia </p><p>and Equitable CardNet in the Philippines. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Overall, FCB Asia-Pacific grew by 27 per cent in year 2000. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>You may ask what about Chrysler? </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The impact of this on FCB will be felt until next year. However, </p><p>fortunately for FCB Asia-Pacific, the implications are minimal. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>FCB's critical mass continues to strengthen across the region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We are expecting to end up ranking No.8 or No.9 on a regional basis. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>More importantly, is the quality of product we are able to deliver our </p><p>clients. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In this area, I would like to highlight our Sydney office's </p><p>progress. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The work developed for Nike around the Olympics was world class. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Our expectations are that we will receive international recognition for </p><p>that work in the coming few months. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Retention of key employees was of paramount importance to the group </p><p>during the merger. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Keep in mind, we were bringing together some 15 operating units across </p><p>the region. For the most part this all happened without a hitch. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Truth be told, one of greatest things about the merger was the </p><p>strengthening of our senior talent pool. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In summary, FCB is closing the year feeling pretty good about </p><p>ourselves. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>We still have a lot of work to do in the coming year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, with the addition of Korea, after the acquisition of Hahnin, we </p><p>now have full distribution of majority-owned offices across the region, </p><p>proven senior management in place and solid development of our direct </p><p>capabilities with the expansion of FCBi. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>