They may not be a new option in the IR toolkit but, for investors and analysts, webcasts remain one of the most importance forms of communication used by IR teams.
An Extel survey of Asia-based investment professionals, conducted in partnership with the Malaysian Investor Relations Association, found webcasts to be the second-most important item on corporate websites, after presentations.
For individuals in the Asia region, however, webcasts are something they would like companies to do more of, a fact underlined by the findings of the recently released IR Magazine Investor Perception Study – Asia 2014/2015.
The report surveys more than 400 portfolio managers, buy-side analysts and sell-side analysts on what they like and dislike about IR across the Chinese market and South East Asia. Many of the comments on webcasting have a simple message: more, please. The following comments are typical:
‘Webcasts are not widely used among Asian companies but I find the few that do them very useful because I can revisit broadcasts’ – Hong Kong, sell side
‘Few companies provide webcasts but CapitaLand and Global Logistic Properties do. I find these very useful’ – Singapore, sell side
‘Webcasts should be more widespread. Most companies tend to stick to teleconferencing, which is not as effective’ – Singapore, buy side
‘I think webcasts are very helpful. In the US and Europe they are used to good effect but they are not catching on in Asia. I am strongly encouraging companies to take them up, however’ – Singapore, buy side
Not all respondents agree, though. A few say webcasts are widespread, perhaps demonstrating differences between market caps and sectors:
‘Most companies I deal with do webcasts now. They post the link online so it’s simple to access’ – Hong Kong, sell side
‘Many of the larger companies are doing webcasts these days, but the smaller ones don’t bother, as they don’t have such a large investor base’ – Hong Kong, buy side
Thinking about getting started with webcasts or boosting your output? The following companies are named by respondents to our report as examples of good practice: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, CapitaLand and Global Logistic Properties.
