PR Newswire has made it possible for companies to tap into the growing North American Chinese market through a distribution circuit that targets more than 150 Chinese-language media, the company announced today.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO )

The North American Chinese-language circuit sends members' news releases to the many national and local newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations; cable TV stations and satellite broadcasters; and online newspapers, websites and portals in the U.S. and Canada that publish or broadcast in Chinese. The circuit will reach media in the following cities: Phoenix, Tucson, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, Denver, Washington, Miami/Ft. Lauderdale, Atlanta, Hawaii, Chicago, Boston, Detroit, St. Louis, Las Vegas, New York, Philadelphia, Portland, Austin, Dallas, Houston, Seattle, Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. Distribution to AFX Asia, Bloomberg, Dow Jones Chinese Language Service, Reuters, Yahoo! Chinese, and Factiva among others, is also included in the circuit. Members can choose to distribute to the circuit on its own or in combination with PR Newswire's premium national newsline, US1, or any of the company's in-region newslines in China.

According to the Selig Center for International Growth at the University of Georgia, the Asian American market has an estimated $253 billion in buying power. Commenting on the strength of this market, Patricia Canary, Vice President, International Services, PR Newswire said, "Companies would be making a big mistake to ignore the potential of this growing market, missing a huge opportunity because they weren't communicating in-language with consumers."

PR Newswire is committed to helping companies communicate their message to all market and demographic segments in North America and throughout the world. The huge growth of new ethnic communities in the U.S. and Canada has created consumer and media markets that want to receive news and information in their native language. PR Newswire early on recognized the requirement to fill this need and in 1990 launched the Hispanic Wire. This widely used service is now a cornerstone of PR Newswire's domestic in-language offerings. The creation of PR Newswire's North American Chinese circuit reflects that Chinese is the third most spoken language in North America, according to U.S. and Canadian census reports.

Canary said that the companies that stand to gain the most from communicating with this market, in-language, include "companies either in North America or China looking to expand their investor base, consumer product companies looking to increase their customer base, or a company targeting a specific offer to the Chinese community in North America such as a phone company offering new calling rates to China, Hong Kong or Taiwan, or a movie company promoting a new Chinese celebrity."

About PR Newswire Association LLC

PR Newswire Association LLC (www.prnewswire.com) provides electronic distribution, targeting and measurement services on behalf of some 40,000 customers worldwide who seek to reach the news media, the investment community and the general public with their up to the minute, full-text news developments. Established in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in fourteen countries and routinely sends its customers' news to outlets in 135 countries in 27 languages. Utilizing the latest in communications technology, PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters and investors as well as increasing numbers of private individuals. PR Newswire is a subsidiary of United Business Media plc of London.

CONTACT: Rachel Asche, Director of Public Relations, PR Newswire, 212-282-1929, or rachel.asche@prnewswire.com.

Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO
AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/
PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840

SOURCE: PR Newswire