It's official: Asia is on the road to recovery

<p>Strong signals that the region is well on its way to economic </p><p>recovery have been further boosted by results of the 1999 adex review </p><p>for the Thai and Singapore markets. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to figures supplied by the Advertising Association of Thailand </p><p>and ACNielsen, both Thailand and the Lion City rebounded in 1999 from </p><p>negative growth the previous year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Thailand saw its annual advertising spend soar by nine per cent, while </p><p>Singapore saw a more modest increase of nearly three per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>However, in Singapore, adex growth was recorded only in the final </p><p>quarter of 1999 - the first three quarters of the year saw slumps of 5.3 </p><p>per cent, 5.1 per cent and one per cent respectively. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>A large part of the increased advertising activity in Singapore came </p><p>from dotcom companies rushing to establish themselves and gain market </p><p>share. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>According to analysis by Optimum Media Direction, most of the spend by </p><p>these dotcom newcomers went into television and print. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>In Thailand, meanwhile, cinema (up 48 per cent), radio (+21 per cent) </p><p>and press (+39 per cent) were the biggest winners in the media share </p><p>battle, as advertisers looked to find cheaper alternatives to TV, which </p><p>grew just three per cent. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>