ECCLESTONE BULLISH ON FORMULA 1 IN ASIA

Singapore (24 September 2010) – Bernie Ecclestone believes Asia is central to the motorsports industry in general and Formula 1™ in particular.

“People used to say, ‘Go west, young man,’ but now the world is moving east,” the F1 supremo told an audience of senior executives and business leaders at “THE BUSINESS OF MOTORSPORTS IN ASIA” conference in Singapore on Friday (24 September).

“Formula 1 has gone worldwide and we have opened a lot of people’s eyes to the sport, but it has taken us a long time to achieve that.”

Ecclestone also highlighted recent global partnership agreements that F1 had signed with Korean electronics giant LG and Swiss bank UBS and said these had generated further confidence in the sport to the benefit of teams. “There are an awful lot of companies who want to get involved in Formula 1,” he said.

UBS Group CEO Oswald Grübel told the audience he hoped the bank would move forward in conjunction with F1, especially in Asia, and that it was a partnership that made perfect sense.

“We hope we are growing in the Asian market as fast as Formula 1 is growing. Asia will be the world’s biggest growth area for at least the next 10 years,” he said.

THE BUSINESS OF MOTORSPORTS IN ASIA conference, attended by 180 delegates from across the region, was organised by Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Just Marketing International (JMI).

A stellar cast of speakers with first-hand knowledge of F1 gave the audience a unique insight into the fast-expanding motorsports industry and its implications for Asia.

The summit was timed to coincide with the 2010 FORMULA 1™ SINGTEL SINGAPORE GRAND PRIX.

Delegates were told that with more than a quarter of F1 World Championship races now taking place in Asia, the sport offered unprecedented business opportunities for the region’s key companies.

In his keynote address, Mr S Iswaran, Singapore’s Senior Minister of State for Trade & Industry and Education, said bringing F1 to the city-state had resulted in huge benefits.

“The impact of F1 is far reaching and can be felt beyond the tourism landscape,” he said. “It has galvanized companies and community groups to ride on its momentum and organize events around the F1 race to involve the community and businesses at large.”

“Motorsports events such as the F1 race offer unprecedented exposure for businesses and, in turn, generate opportunities for the region’s key companies. Today’s summit is a good opportunity for companies in the region to network and capitalize on spin-offs brought by the anchoring of the Formula 1 race in Singapore.”

Magnus Böcker, Chief Executive Officer, Singapore Exchange, said the summit was an opportunity for SGX to help customers grow their businesses.

“The qualities and characteristics of F1 resonate well with Singapore Exchange and I am very encouraged that our customers have expressed strong interest and are telling us how this summit could potentially help them in expanding their global network through the association with established global brands,” he said.

Joining SGX and JMI in support of THE BUSINESS OF MOTORSPORTS IN ASIA were the Economic Development Board (EBD) Singapore, Singapore Tourism Board (STB), Singapore Sports Council and media partners including The Business Times of Singapore and Channel NewsAsia.

Zak Brown, Founder and CEO of JMI, the world’s largest marketing agency dedicated exclusively to motorsports, told the conference that Asian companies were becoming more aware of the opportunities on offer.

“There is a growing roll call of Asian corporations that have successfully parlayed motorsports sponsorships into brand-enhancing positions, including Aigo, AirAsia, LG, Kingfisher, Petronas and Singtel,” he said. “In summary, Asia and motorsports are going fast – and growing fast.”