Time-Life moves Asia HQ to S'pore from Hong Kong
Time-Life moves Asia HQ to S'pore from Hong Kong
SINGAPORE (Reuter): U.S. publisher Time-Life Inc said
yesterday it was moving its Asian headquarters from Hong Kong to
Singapore.
Bill Helmuth, Time-Life director of sales and marketing in
Asia, told Reuters the move, which began in August, had been
prompted by Singapore's infrastructure and distribution network.
"It seems a logical move to make," Helmuth said. "(Singapore)
has ready access to the Asian market, a stable government and a
sound political system."
No restrictions on foreign currency movements was also a plus,
he said.
The 1997 takeover of Hong Kong by China was also an element,
but not the main factor, behind the move, he said.
"We could stay on in Hong Kong too," he said. "We want to have
the best possible business climate."
Singapore will be the new regional launching pad for Time-
Life's "edutainment" books, videos and CD-ROMs in Asian languages
as well as in English.
Time-Life is part of the U.S. Time Warner group, which has
vast interests in music recording, publishing, film production
and cable television.
Time-Life Asia initially will move a seven-person team from
Hong Kong, which has been its base for the past 10 years.
The official said the other divisions of the Time Warner group
of companies would stay in Hong Kong.
"We are not wholesaling the move," he said.
The Straits Times newspaper yesterday quoted another Time-Life
official as saying the company's Asian operations were likely to
contribute US$65-70 million of its expected global turnover of
nearly $600 million in 1995.
The official said Asia should account for 30 to 40 percent of
the company's world sales of more than $800 million by early next
century.
"We feel Singapore has a leg up over most of the other
countries due to the fact that (it is) a multicultural society,"
the official said. "It is better suited to do a lot more local
language publishing than we were capable of doing in Hong Kong."
English-language products now account for only about 40
percent of Time-Life Asia's sales.