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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.