In today's fast-paced world, media and advertising play a vital role in shaping our daily lives. However, it's disheartening to witness their undervaluation in Asia. Our team recently delved into the valuation of the top 10 listed media and advertising companies in Hong Kong, Korea, and Japan, relative to each country's leading index.
Unsurprisingly, we found that North East Asian countries trail far behind the United States in this aspect. One of the primary drivers behind the US media and advertising success is Mar-Tech (Marketing Technology). American companies excel in research and development, as well as mergers and acquisitions, to enhance their proprietary technological differentiators.
A similar technology valuation gap is also evident when comparing Korea and Japan. In theory, Korea's media businesses might have a lower market capitalization compared to Japan due to its smaller domestic market size. Moreover, Korea's conglomerates disproportionately contribute to the country's GDP.
However, the intriguing revelation is that Korea's media businesses boast a significantly higher valuation percentage. The question that arises is, why is this the case?