World publishers urged to seize opportunities in digital age

SINGAPORE, Dec. 10 (Xinhua) -- A Singapore government official on Monday urged publishers in the world to seize the opportunities to be offered by the digital revolution and new media, which have also become major challenges to the publishing industry.

Speaking at the 7th worldwide magazine marketplace, organized by the International Federation of the Periodical Press and the Magazine Publishers Association of Singapore, Singapore's Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lee Boon Yang said that publishers across the world could exploit online archiving and leverage on digital media to reach out to the public in new and innovative ways.

The publishing sector like the rest of the media industry also has to innovate and integrate the value chain, he said, adding that the print media drives traffic to the Web.

More magazines have established significant online presence and built strong interactive relationships with readers as this will extend the brand and allow the publisher to collect demographic and behavioral information about readers, he said.

According to the minister, more than 3,000 publishing and printing companies are currently operating in Singapore.

The global magazine publishing sector is expected to grow at a compound rate of 4.1 percent annually from 87.3 billion U.S. dollars in 2004 to 106.5 billion U.S. dollars in 2009, and the Asia Pacific region is expected to grow at a compound rate of 3.8 percent annually from 11.7 billion U.S. dollars in 2004 to 14 billion U.S. dollars in 2009.