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We update you on the most essential news from Asia in tech, media, and business—the things you need to know that you probably haven’t heard in Western media.
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The Purchase Potential of Female Consumers in China 👚
There’s a term in China called “Little Sisters,” which refers to Chinese women between the ages of 20 and 40, a key group of consumer spending. For companies looking to advertise to Chinese consumers, the ‘Little Sister’ target audience is becoming even more important. In Mainland China, women make three out of four purchases. There have been several hundred-million dollar mergers and acquisitions in China over the last few months in industries such as personal care, baby care, and health care. The people behind these deals were all targeting female Chinese consumers.
As a sub-segment of the ‘sheconomy,’ the Chinese cosmetics industry has become the second largest in the world after the United States. In Q2 2020, cosmetic sales in China increased 16 percent year-on-year. The recovery of cosmetics post-Covid has been very rapid compared to other industries. In the West, consumer goods companies put a lot of effort into positioning their marketing towards female consumers. The same thing is now happening in China as we see the rise of ‘Little Sisters.’
Rise of the East Asia Super League 🏀
The East Asia Super League (EASL) is a new professional basketball league that will feature teams from countries across Asia, including China, Japan, Korea and the Philippines. The inaugural season will begin in October 2021 and the league has a ten-year agreement with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA). The first season will have eight teams and the plan is to increase to sixteen teams by 2023.
Asia is the biggest untapped market for Western sports leagues. With over two billion potential sports fans in Asia, pretty much every sports league from European football to American basketball makes Asia their main international priority. While it’s interesting to look at what the Premier League and NBA are doing in Asia, some of the most exciting developments are sports leagues native to Asia. Another example apart from the EASL is One Championship, which has become one of the fastest growing and biggest sports properties in the world. One Championship is an eight-year-old mixed martial arts sports organisation based in Singapore and operating across several Asian countries. While you could call One Championship something like ‘the UFC of Asia,’ One has actually overtaken the UFC in global online viewership numbers.
The Best Performing Stock Market in Asia 🇵🇰
What is currently the best performing stock market in Asia? Right now, that title belongs to Pakistan, whose KSE-100 Index has rebounded with a 36% increase since March. While the country is still suffering many covid-related effects in its economy and the overall health of society, there are a few investment funds from places like Sweden and Dubai who have made early, contrarian bets on Pakistan. It’s too early to draw long-term conclusions from this, but Pakistan’s rebounding stock market should bring at least a moment of positivity and pride.
I’ve personally visited Pakistan three times and worked with organisations there ranging from small startups to universities to multinational conglomerates. For years I have been saying that Pakistan is the most underrated emerging market and perhaps most misunderstood country in the world. Over the last couple of years, the country has made both critical progress and large missteps. In the time of covid, I’m cautiously short-term optimistic and definitely long-term bullish.
Update #56 - Little Sisters, East Asia Super League, and Pakistan