Advertising agency Dentsu Inc. said Thursday it will invest 6.6 billion yen in its Asian operations.
The investment is primarily aimed at enhancing Dentsu's trade with Japanese corporations that have established offices and subsidiaries in the region.
Dentsu said 2.01 billion yen of this outlay will be used to finance the establishment of the Dentsu Asia Fund.
The fund will be used to aid the activities of other agencies and firms specializing in advertising, media and public relations activities, the firm said. This in turn should help Dentsu establish and improve its own network of agencies in Asia, it said.
The fund will be also used to assist firms specializing in information technology, content production, sports marketing and other ad-related peripheral businesses.
Another 2.5 billion yen will be used to bolster the capital base of Dentsu Asia Pte., a subsidiary set up in Singapore on May 1.
As a result, the enhanced capital of Dentsu Asia will total 2.68 billion yen as of Monday.
In addition to these measures, Dentsu will set up a new subsidiary in Hong Kong on Monday. Dentsu China will be capitalized at 1.8 billion yen.
Dentsu will also funnel some of the capital outlay to enhance its business operations in the Philippines, Malaysia and other countries, it said.