Baker & McKenzie Believes New Technology May Shape Media Investment in the Asia Pacific
Firm News
February 24, 2010
Sydney, Australia, 24 February 2010 – Media investment in the Asia Pacific region will continue to prove a challenge, with many markets retaining relatively restrictive market controls and foreign investment rules.
A panel of media law experts presenting at Baker & McKenzie’s Asia Pacific Meeting in Sydney today explained that in spite of a growing consumer demand for content, regional Governments were in the main keeping a tight rein on the sector.
Technology however may ultimately loosen their grip, according to Sydney partner Adrian Lawrence. “You have to query whether the restrictions that continue to exist are driven primarily by content censorship concerns rather than, say, competition issues or a desire to promote local companies.
“If investment restrictions are de facto content controls then it is fair to wonder to what extent will they break down naturally as content crosses borders via the Internet?” said Mr Lawrence.
While nations such as China and Vietnam kept a tight grip on all foreign investment in what might be considered traditional media areas such as TV, print and radio, there were already some chinks of opportunity starting to emerge for investment in the online content or internet space. Mr Lawrence said that the
disruptive technologies such as online, mobile, digital and IPTV may have had a slow start – but were now starting to take hold and influence the sector.
This was presenting regulatory challenges for Governments right across the region as they came to grips with increasingly blurred media landscapes.
The firm presented a regional round up of legislation affecting the media sector in the Asia Pacific region during the seminar.
What emerged clearly was that some nations currently remain almost impenetrable to foreign owned media, particularly China and Vietnam. Singapore was slightly more liberal, with Thailand and Australia offering the most streamlined market access.
According to Mr Lawrence, “What is clear is that there is a broad church of policy settings right across the Asia Pacific region.” Media companies would have to carefully analyse these policy settings when crafting an Asia Pacific strategy, and be ready to navigate the fairly complex web of rules and regulations in each of the different countries.
Partner Andrew Stewart said Baker & McKenzie was currently compiling a guide to Media Law across the region which it hoped to release later this year.