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NBA's Phil Hayes-Brown points out the excellent prospects of sports licensing in Asia at the Licensing Show and Conference

Hong Kong will become a platform for licensing business in the Chinese mainland, said industry players and experts at the recent Licensing Show and Conference which attracted about 8,000 trade visitors from around the world.

NBA senior director of business development Phil Hayes-Brown said localised promotion is the key to success for NBA Asia in bringing the American basketball game to the Asian market. He said NBA began by building critical mass through TV and the Internet followed by "long-term partnerships with licensees and advertising sponsors around the world, followed by worldwide publicity to reinforce its image."

Mr Hayes-Brown shared his insights with other licensing professionals on the latest global industry trends and discussed opportunities in the mainland including the 2008 Beijing Olympics at the Regional Licensing Conference organised by the Trade Development Council (TDC).

Dorothy Chan of Walt Disney (Asia-Pacific) said that property right protection (IPR) is better protected in the Chinese mainland than before. She said the company has been reporting double-digit sales growth every year since it first entered the mainland 17 years ago. "Currently, we work with 80 licensees to produce a wide range of licensed properties based on 20 Walt Disney cartoon characters," she added.

The turnout at the three-day event was stronger than anticipated. It was earlier scheduled for April but was later deferred to July because of the Sars outbreak. French buyer Denise Chavatte who visited the show for the second time this year said she found a cartoon character she was interested in becoming a licensee for. She negotiated with the agent and manufacturer on-site for distribution rights in the French market.

TDC's director of services promotion Rachel Chan said the show was a platform for licensing parties to explore business opportunities, expand their licensing network and add value to their properties. "Hong Kong is becoming a premier licensing platform in Asia. Many international licensors choose to operate using Hong Kong as their base in the Asia-Pacific region due to the huge potential of the China market."