China To Leapfrog Japan's Ad Market

Mainland China is predicted to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest advertising market next year.

A report by New York-based research firm eMarketer expects ad spend in China to reach nearly US$53 billion in 2013, surpassing Japan for the first time. The US will remain far ahead at US$176 billion, but rising spending in China is expected to narrow the gap.

"China is not just the largest country in the world by population, but also an ad spending juggernaut that is helping Asia Pacific achieve milestone after milestone in both total media and online ad spending," eMarketer wrote.