Photo by: Sovann philongIDG plans to localise three of its key titles and publish them in Khmer from next year.
Written by Marika Hill
Thursday, 18 June 2009
PC World, CIO and Computerworld to become the first international titles with Cambodian editions as media giant seeks to expand local presence
GLOBAL media giant International Data Group (IDG) plans to publish Khmer-language editions of three of its key magazine titles in Cambodia from 2010, IDG spokesman Chipphal Ouk told the Post.
The magazines - PC World, CIO and Computerworld - would focus on business issues relevant to Cambodia and feature reporting from both international and local journalists, he said.
It had not been decided whether it would work in partnership with a Cambodian publisher or publish the magazines independently.
IDG, a global media, research and event management company, was founded in 1964 and now publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers in 92 countries.
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It is possible for the current publications to attract an increasing level of advertising revenue...
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The three titles planned for Cambodia are all concerned with information technology. PC World covers digital information for computer users, CIO provides communication technology information for business executives, and Computerworld specialises in information systems.
A Monument Books staff member told the Post that no other foreign publications currently publish a Cambodia edition.
Peang Mann, the managing director of International Media Services Consulting Group (IMS), a media firm, said IDG should have little trouble attracting a share of a growing advertising base, but that it would need to ensure it featured localised content that is both up-to-date and relevant to local business.
"The market for business and niche publications in Cambodia is growing steadily with magazines such as Economics Today, IT City and Phone City attracting bigger readership," he said Tuesday.
"It is possible for the current publications to attract an increasing level of advertising revenue, as they are strongly connected to Cambodia's growing services sector including banking, insurance, telecom and information technology."
The latest available figures from IMS show that the local advertising market has defied the global economic slowdown, at least over the first three months of this year. Television placement grew around 13 percent in the first quarter on a massive increase in spending by financial services and mobile phone operators, figures released to the Post last month showed.
Newspaper revenues were up 29.6 percent year-on-year, over the same period, though that was largely due to the increased frequency of English-language publications.
Figures also released to the Post last month by media agency DraftFCB showed a 22 percent increase in spending across TV, print and radio over the first quarter, again boosted by the services sector.
New direction
IDG established a Phnom Penh office in 2005 but has focused on event management. It is organising July's Cambodia Finance International Conference 2009 and also ran a banking conference in February and an ICT conference in April.
According to IDG's chief representative in Cambodia, Van Anh Truong, the company currently employs six staff, all focussed on research into the telecommunications and IT industries.
It plans to hire 10 more this year and have 100 staff in Cambodia by 2014. "In five years time ... we want to build a reputation for IDG Cambodia worldwide," she said.
She said the company hopes to create its own market by working closely with the private sector and government in an effort to attract investors to Cambodia. "We bring the investors from outside to understand more about the Cambodian market and build their confidence to invest in Cambodia," she said.
The expansion model worked well in China where IDG opened an office 20 years ago, she added. "When IDG first came to China, people always asked our chairman, ‘why did you invest in China'," she said.
Five years later, investors were following the company into the country in droves.
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