Hong Kong-based company buys stake of PR firm Financial & Corporate Relations
Hong Kong-based Strategic Public Relations Group has acquired a 20% stake in Australian PR firm Financial & Corporate Relations.
The partnership between the two companies will assist Financial & Corporate Relations’ clients that wish to expand into Asia.
The deal will see FCR founder Anthony Tregoning and director Brian Mahoney selling part of their shares to SPRG.
Tregoning said that the growth in Asian markets will become necessary for Australian companies in the next decade.
“In the coming years, Australia’s business relationships with rapidly developing countries in our region will become more complex. We will move from a simple import-export mindset to relationships based on partnerships of skills. To succeed, this will require specialist on-the-ground communication advice, coupled with strong local knowledge,” Anthony Tregoning said.
“While China has dominated the attention of Australian media and will continue to grow as a trading partner, more Australians are gaining first-hand knowledge of our other close neighbours and realising they are also growing faster than the US or Europe. Through tourism, we are understanding the trade, cultural and political differences among these individual countries. The next step is Australian companies gathering detailed intelligence on markets in Asia, increased business-to-business cooperation, more confident inter-country investment and cross-fertilisation at board level. We are positioning ourselves to assist clients in this coming development phase.”
SPRG founder and chairman, Richard Tsang, stated: “FCR and SPRG have a similar philosophy of providing business PR specialisation at the local level – we both offer expert local knowledge of key issues, policymakers, journalists and investors in each city where we operate. This support is essential, for instance, for global companies to communicate successfully in any cross-border merger, acquisition or trading initiative, because cultural differences are a critical determinant of success.
“We will combine our specialist skills in IR, corporate and financial communication to address clients’ needs more effectively, such as accelerating their pace of market penetration; handling roadshows, investor meetings and presentations; conducting shareholder analysis; and improving stakeholder engagement. This will help us to improve our competitiveness and expand our businesses.
“We look forward to close cooperation with FCR and the cross-fertilisation of ideas and interchange of people that the partnership offers,” Tsang said.
topics
Anthony Tregoning
Financial & Corporate Relations
Richard Tsang
Strategic Public Relations Group
