READERSHIP OF INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS IS ON THE RISE IN ASIA AT THE SAME TIME THAT INTERNET MEDIA USAGE ISINCREASING.

Readership of international business publications is on the rise in Asia at the same time that Internet media usage is also increasing.

Overall readership was up for the first time in several years, according to Ipsos Media's ABRS, an every-other-year survey of the continent's top business executives' media habits, consumption, and buying power.

Despite the fact that the Internet is changing the way some gather business news — 37% say it has changed the way they use publications are
still spending time with traditional media.

While 74% of executives questioned agree that the Internet is good for business news updates, up three percentage points since 2004, and 61% spend more time reading business information on the Internet than in the past, online information is still seen as a supplement to printed media. Some 71% believe a Website is an important part of a business publication's overall offering.

"What we are seeing is a desire for richer sources of knowledge and business information drawn from both print and online," said Simon Staplehurst, associate director at Ipsos MORI Media.

High level executives across Asia are more likely than not to be involved in international business. Some 77% claimed having an international
perspective was important to them. These executives are also frequent international travelers for business and pleasure, with 47% having taken six or more trips in the past year. Despite their seniority, just over half are not using business or first class as their class of choice. Some 54% had the latest WAP/GPRS/MM messaging technology on their phones; similar numbers own portable laptops or notebook computers. Their list of possessions reads like an upmarket shopping catalogue: 21% have LCD televisions; 7% own a Blackberry; 29% own an iPod or MP3 player.

A penchant for enjoying leisure time is evidenced in the way Asian business leaders spend their money. Some 23% enjoy sports club memberships, and 18% are members of a golf club; 31% have taken a holiday in the last 12 months that cost US$1,500-US$2,999 per person, while 13% have spent more than US$3,000 per person.

The survey had a sample size of 5,507 in eight countries, representing 231,345 senior business executives in the region. •