Advertisement spending up

Advertisement spending up

HONG KONG (Dow Jones): After a terrible 1998, advertisers are starting to spend more in Asia, even in such unlikely places as riot-plagued Indonesia.

Advertisement spending in Asia, excluding Japan, is growing faster than in Europe and the U.S. and - at US$22 billion this year - should exceed 1996, the year before Asian economies crashed, according to a new study by ACNielsen Corp. (ART).

The survey shows that manufacturers' marketing executives, at least, expect consumers to start spending more. That is good news for some nations whose economies are still not out of the woods.

"Advertising is a good barometer of consumer confidence," Steven Yung, president of ACNielsen Media International told Dow Jones Newswires.

Among the markets with the biggest gains: South Korea, where advertisers spent 21 percent more during the first six months of the year, or $2 billion. The economy is starting to bulk up again after the 1997 Asian crash. Advertisement spending had plunged 25 percent in the first six months of last year.

And in Indonesia advertisers spent 32 percent more this year, or almost half a billion dollars, up from a 16 percent drop last year.