HEADLINES: Citicorp takes stake in Action Asia

<p>Citicorp has taken a stake in adventure travel magazine Action Asia </p><p>with the aim of expanding the company through a heftier online presence, </p><p>acquisitions and start-ups. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The search for investment to expand the eight-year-old publishing </p><p>company began last year and attracted several suitors, but the final </p><p>deal was closed by Citicorp Capital Asia Ltd, an investment arm of </p><p>Citicorp. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Among the most visible early signs of change are the new management team </p><p>of CEO Greg Woolstencroft, formerly a director of Arthur Andersen in </p><p>Australia and with a background in communications and management; COO </p><p>and chief strategic officer Amanda Wang, formerly with the American </p><p>communications and IT investment bank Communication Equity Associates; </p><p>and sales and marketing director Sandy Agarwal, previously with Star TV, </p><p>ESPN and Discovery Channel. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>No staff changes have been made. Mr Robert Houston remains as associate </p><p>publisher and editor-in-chief and founder, Hong Kong lawyer Gordon </p><p>Oldham remains the single biggest shareholder. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>New CEO Mr Woolstencroft told MEDIA that the focus of the business would </p><p>be on content and distributing it through different delivery systems as </p><p>a business-to-consumer and business-to-business media company. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Mr Houston said the print division would now be part of a much larger </p><p>entity and that the range of the company would expand into new </p><p>areas. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The Internet enables us to have a retail platform and takes us all over </p><p>the world," he said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>