The Weekly News Update is a weekly roundup of business news from around the Asia-Pacific region, covering Fusion Consulting's core industry practices: chemicals, consumer & retail, financial services, industrial & logistics, information & communication technology, life science and media & leisure. If you have colleagues or friends who may be interested in subscribing, please forward this email to them and copy knowledge@fusionc.com.     2008 Asia-Pacific pay-TV operators survey, 4th edition   Programmers, find out what the major cable, satellite and IPTV platforms in Asia  and Australia think about your channels and support, their programming plans and  their hopes and fears for the future of the industry. This survey targets  programming managers at 50 major carriers in 16 countries across the region,  focusing on the largest players in each country. In cooperation with ContentAsia.  Request more information. Media & leisure

China - Online ads grew 75% in 2007 Source: ChinaWire, 25 February 2008 China's online advertising market grew 75% in 20007 to RMB10.6 billion (US$1.5 billion). iResearch attributed the surge in online advertising to a boom in search engine advertising, which expanded 108.6%. Search engine advertising now accounts for 27.3% of the market, and would reach 30% in 2008. The firm forecast that China's online advertising market would hit RMB17.2 billion (US$2.4 billion) in 2008 and RMB37 billion (US$5.2 billion) in 2011. China had 210 million Internet users at the end of 2007, the world's second largest online population and only five million fewer than the United States. However, the United States reported more than US$22.5 billion in online advertising in 2007, about 15 times that of China. India - India to raise investment limits in broadcast industry Source: TelecomAsia, 25 February 2008 The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has recommended raising foreign investment limit in FM radio stations, allowing news broadcast and multiple channel ownership in same areas to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. The foreign holding, including institutional investment for FM radio, may rise to 26% for news broadcasting and 49% for non-news broadcasting. Foreign holding now stands at 20% for both. Broadcasters may also be permitted to broadcast news taking content from the government's radio service and television services, authorised television news channels and news agencies. Korea - Tourism deficit at record US$10 billion Source: Korea Herald, 27 February 2008 The tourism deficit hit a record high of US$10.1 billion in 2007, as spending by Koreans traveling overseas exceeded the expenditure of foreigners who visited the nation in 2007. According to the Korea Tourism Organisation, spending by Korean travelers overseas amounted to US$15.8 billion, whereas foreign visitors in Korea spent a total of US$5.7 billion. The surge in the tourism deficit was attributed to the growing trend among Koreans of spending holidays overseas. The number of incoming visitors to Korea grew by 4.8%, while the number of outgoing Korean tourists increased by 15.7%. A total of 13 million Koreans traveled to foreign countries in 2007. View an example of our experience in this industry. Back to list of articles.  Visit our website to sign up for free intelligence on Asian markets.

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