VIEWPOINT: Cutback meant divorce was expected

It's no surprise that the Standard Chartered and J. Walter Thompson regional alignment has come unstuck in Hong Kong after less than a year of marriage. With its plan to list in the city repeatedly postponed, the bank has dramatically reduced its adspend this year. Blue chip as it is, Standard Chartered simply isn't spending enough to retain a 4As agency especially since today's dire climate limits an agency's leeway in managing non-performing accounts. And judging by the unrealistic time the bank is giving agencies to pitch - one week - and the vagueness of its brief, this relationship will require very careful handling by the incoming agency.