Ad spending rises

Advertising spending in China rose between 18% and 22% in 2006, driven by a increasingly competitive banking sector and a number of major sporting events, the Wall Street Journal reported. Advertisers spent US$36.9 billion in China last year, up 18% up from a year earlier, but the numbers do not count spending on the internet and outdoor ads, two growing markets in China. Pharmaceuticals and manufacturing have seen increased spending on marketing, and the Winter Olympics and World Cup soccer tournament last year were advertising bonanzas. China's current ad market accounts for only 1.4% of the nation's gross domestic product, while in the US, the ad market accounts for 3% of GDP.