Global new-biz analysis: China dominates total billings in Asia-Pacific

China stood out with the most new-business wins in Asia-Pacific; its billings represented almost two-thirds (63%) of the total for the region in April, which reached $1.3bn.

China’s 62 reviews generated $786m in billings – five times as many as the next ranked country, Australia, which came in at $159m, according to Campaign’s Advertising Intelligence tool.

Data tracked by R3 showed the FMCG sector for new business was booming in Asia-Pacific. Its 49 accounts generated half a billion dollars in billings ($553m) in April – accounting for 44% of the total billings in this region.

Again, China was the most active in this sector accounting for 84% ($465m) of the FMCG billings in Asia-Pacific.

The most notable win within this sector was the $400m PepsiCo media account, won by Publicis Media in China.

Retail and technology, IT & electronics followed as the most active sectors in Asia-Pacific. Both had 30 new-business account wins: retail generated $129m in billings, while tech came in at $110m.

The retail sector was the most fruitful in Australia, with billings reaching $53m from eight accounts. The tech sector had the most new-business billings in China, with a total of $75m from 10 accounts.

A significant win on the retail side was the $34m Woolworths Supermarkets creative account, which was picked up by indie agency M&C Saatchi Group in Australia.

Meanwhile, WPP’s VMLY&R won a creative account for tech company TCL in China, worth $55m.

Americas generated the most billings by region

Overall, it was the Americas that generated the most billings by region – its 55 accounts brought in $1.5bn, which accounted for almost half (44%) of the total for April.

The majority of the high-value wins were in the US. In fact, billings in the US totalled $1.4bn from 30 accounts.

The three biggest wins in the US for April were: the media RBI pitch won by Omnicom’s PHD for $550m; the creative Burger King account won by indie agency OKRP for $290m; and department store Kohl's $240m business was picked up by indie shop Horizon Media.

In Europe, meanwhile, billings totalled $351m – a third of which came from the UK ($109m). One notable win came from Barclaycard, with Publicis Groupe's Bartle Bogle Hegarty picking up the $20m creative account.

On the holding company front, among the big six WPP took the lead in Asia-Pacific, with $459m in billings. A notable win was the $73m Meituan account – a food delivery service provider – in China, which was picked up by Wavemaker.

In Europe, Havas brought in the most new-business spend at $133m – Havas Media snapped up finance and insurance company La Caixa, worth $14m, as well as a $5m Yves Rocher account.

Among the big six, Omnicom took the lead in the Americas with billings reaching $561m. However, it was indie agencies that were the most active in picking up new business in this region. Altogether, billings for independent shops totalled $813m – the largest was the $290m Burger King account.