Regional publishers cautiously optimistic

<p>HONG KONG: Regional publishers have expressed cautious optimism over </p><p>prospects for 2001 after CMR reported that the growth of ad revenues for </p><p>Asia-Pacific was three per cent year-on-year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The sentiment is an improvement from the beginning of the year when it </p><p>first emerged that the US economy appeared to be sliding into a </p><p>recession. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>CMR reported that advertising revenue for the January to March months </p><p>edged up about USdollars 1.6 million to dollars 62.4 million, compared </p><p>with the same period last year. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The sluggish pace of expansion is caused by the bursting of the dotcom </p><p>bubble and nervousness about the American economy. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Time and Fortune publisher Andrew Butcher said he was cautiously </p><p>optimistic because current volatility was being offset by strong ad </p><p>bookings for the second half. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The hard knock everyone was fearful of in the earlier part of the year </p><p>hasn't happened and that means people are more upbeat. But overall I </p><p>would have to say that trading conditions are tough and volatile." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Newsweek advertising director Theresa Yeung described the sentiment of </p><p>advertisers as mixed. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"Advertisers are generally cautious but less pessimistic than a few </p><p>months ago," Yeung said. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Forbes Global was one of a handful of magazines which bucked the </p><p>downtrend. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>The magazine, which entered the Asia market just three years ago, posted </p><p>a 70 per cent rise in ad bookings for the first quarter. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>Forbes Asia vice-president and managing director William Adamopoulos </p><p>said: "We're still regarded as a new and upcoming product in the </p><p>region. </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>"The dynamism comes from the fact that our circulation is growing </p><p>strongly and this is underlined by the fact that we'll be auditing at </p><p>least 54,000 in the first half." </p><p><BR><BR> </p><p>ADVERTISING REVENUE REPORT </p><p> Adspend Adspend </p><p> USdollars USdollars </p><p>Publications Jan-Mar 01 Jan-Mar 00 % change </p><p>Asian Wall Street Journal 13,475,629 12,476,458 8.0 </p><p>Time Asia 9,393,394 9,311,651 0.9 </p><p>Newsweek Asia 6,680,375 6,617,099 1.0 </p><p>International Herald Tribune 4,798,609 4,539,897 5.7 </p><p>Asiaweek 4,678,125 5,475,825 -14.6 </p><p>Far Eastern Economy Review 3,832,877 3,061,299 25.2 </p><p>The Economist 3,272,775 3,297,225 -0.7 </p><p>Business Week 2,861,774 3,555,305 -19.5 </p><p>Fortune 2,455,713 3,154,100 -22.1 </p><p>Financial Times 2,021,498 2,046,386 -1.2 </p><p>Readers Digest Asia 1,922,382 1,441,006 33.4 </p><p>Forbes Global 980,016 577,596 69.7 </p><p>Produced by CMR International. </p><p><BR><BR> </p>