27 July, 2017: Nikkei and the Financial Times announce the creation of the Nikkei-FT Asia Pacific Combined Commercial Team, a joint salesforce to leverage their respective networks in the Asia Pacific region.

The new team will operate under the joint leadership of Hiroko Hoshino, commercial director for Asia Pacific at the FT, and Keith Makie, Head of Nikkei-FT Integrated Solutions, both of whom are based in Tokyo. The team includes all FT advertising sales staff in Japan and Hong Kong, as well as select Nikkei advertising sales staff in Tokyo and Hong Kong.

In Hong Kong, the salesforce will continue serving existing FT clients and will also oversee Nikkei products, including Nikkei Asian Review. In Japan, the team will continue working with FT clients, adding FT Live events to their portfolio to meet demand from Japanese companies seeking new business in international markets.

Hiroko Hoshino, commercial director for Asia Pacific at the FT, said: “A combined commercial sales operation in Asia Pacific plays to the strengths of both Nikkei and the FT. It will help provide premium marketing and brand-building opportunities for new and existing clients in Asia, and demonstrate globally the value and potential of the Nikkei FT partnership.This is a very exciting development, which promotes collaboration across Nikkei and the FT, and supports our ambitions for growth in Asia Pacific.”

Keith Makie, Head of Nikkei-FT Integrated Solutions, said: “The Combined Commercial Team will take advantage of our respective strengths, providing clients with more integrated solutions for their global branding. Our partnership with the FT is important for the entire Nikkei Group in terms of expanding our business in the region. We look forward to serving more international clients in Asia.”

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About Nikkei:

Nikkei Inc. is a trusted media brand in Asia, known for its quality journalism and capability in providing business news and information. Founded as a market news media in Japan in 1876, Nikkei has grown to be one of the largest media conglomerates with 37 foreign editorial bureaus and approx. 1300 journalists worldwide, with another global media brand, Financial Times, joining in our group in 2015. Nikkei has always been embracing digitization and technology to find a new way to deliver news and information as a reliable source of information to the global community.

About the Financial Times:
The Financial Times is one of the world’s leading business news organisations, recognised internationally for its authority, integrity and accuracy. In 2016 the FT passed a significant milestone in its digital transformation as digital and services revenues overtook print revenues for the first time. The FT has a combined paid print and digital circulation of almost 870,000 and makes 60% of revenues from its journalism.

For more information, please contact: Rhonda.Taylor@ft.com / +44 (0) 2078734673

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