Meet the Media: Business Capital Asia

Have you ever needed industry-specific information and details on key businesses across the region but find it time-consuming to gather information about individual companies? Business Capital Asia (BCA) offers a convenient solution to C-level executives and potential investors by profiling businesses, keeping them informed of the investment and development opportunities that deserve special attention in these economically tumultuous times.

Published by Business Capital Intelligence (BCI), BCA is an online B2B bi-monthly magazine, offering timely insights on investment opportunities, products, solutions and services across the region. Several renowned companies have been featured in its latest issue, including Tong Eng Group, Aurum Land, UM Land and Hatten Group. BCA has established its credibility by attracting 35,000 subscribers comprising top-level management professionals, investment consortiums, venture capital companies and individuals with a net profit of USD five million and above.

Click to view

“A lot of the times, when you are looking for vendors of a particular product or service to complement your own organisation, you are spoilt for choice,” said Mohan Raj Valliappan, Founder and Research Director at BCI. “Every vendor or solution provider that you speak with is going to say they are the best, but there is always a need to substantiate such claims of one’s standing amongst counterparts. Our magazine offers companies the platform to put their best foot forward and market themselves as preferred solution providers who can best caters to their needs.”

The magazine covers industries from environmental technology, ICT, maritime, manufacturing and telecom, to food & beverage, travel and tourism, and construction and property.

According to Mohan, “These industries have the most need when it comes to sourcing for vendors and investment opportunities. Many times, someone who is looking to invest a sizeable amount of money would look at safe, low-risk investments like property development or open up a food and beverage franchise. These are the industries that make the economy work.”

His decision to start BCI stemmed from his experiences in the events and online digital marketing industries, where he encountered numerous clients who were spending large amounts of money to become an event vendor just to reach out to their target audience or clients attending events, in hopes of finding suitable vendors to address their needs.

Soon, Mohan realised there was “a huge gap between giving the right information and making money”. He said, “Quite often, the company organising the event or conference is more focused on making money rather than giving the right information for investors to learn more about solution providers. We are trying to bridge that gap by providing detailed, useful information in our magazine.”

In order to ensure they only feature the best of the best, BCA’s research team lays the groundwork by investigating companies’ value propositions and key differentiators, as well as determining what makes them tick. Besides reading a wide selection of international business magazines and researching the internet, the team also speaks to senior management officers, corporate associations and its members, to gather credible information to best present the companies they work with.

[Tweet “Meet the #Media: Business Capital Asia shares its goals and work processes.”]

As most companies are hesitant to reveal such detailed information, Mohan’s approach towards them is simple.

“Having integrity in speaking about your company builds your business in the long run, because that differentiates you from the rest, especially those that are offering similar services,” he elaborated.  “There also needs to be a platform where they can showcase their credibility alongside prestigious projects, and BCA can help them with that.”

When asked if BCA will only feature MNCs, Mohan was resolute in his belief to maintain the magazine’s diversity by writing about SMEs and recognising their successes.

“The Asia-Pacific region is a fertile ground for MEs that are up and coming. Although these established companies are not as large as MNCs, they are still earning about 20-30 million per annum.”

Mohan strongly believes in quality over quantity, which is not only reflected in the magazine’s editorials, but also within the team at BCI. Rather than overseeing a group of 100-200 individuals, he works with the core team and their auxiliary staff who are equipped with skill sets that enable them to effectively communicate clients’ messages through writing, graphic design and marketing.

“We basically have a team of individuals that are able to understand a company’s main differentiator, flow that objective down the lines and present our content accordingly, to what the real time news is all about,” he said.

In its April/May issue released on 15^th April 2016, the team has bagged a few noteworthy projects. Recently, the magazine did a special coverage on the 2016 Singapore Yacht Show, one of the premier boating shows in Asia- Pacific, and will cover the International Property Awards in its upcoming issues.

Mohan added, “We will also be working closely with various franchising sources to address the various food and beverage franchising opportunities available in Asia-Pacific. We often see a lot of franchising coming from the west to the east, so we are trying to focus on whether there is an opportunity for franchises in this region to go west.”

BCI plans to roll out more digital solutions such as EDM advertising and leverage the power of social media to advertise clients’ messages. Also, Mohan aims to eventually publish the magazine in different languages and delve into events management. Whilst the team has aspirations for the company and the magazine, their ultimate goal for now is to be the go-to resource for individuals and companies, through their publication.

Individuals and companies interested in joining the team or advertising in the magazine may email Mohan or drop him a message on LinkedIn.

About Mohan Raj Valliappan:

Mohan Raj Valliappan has over 22 years of business development experience in various industries ranging from property, manufacturing and ICT to transportation, airports and events. He enjoys reading up on a wide range of topics, including current affairs and major corporate acquisitions. Mohan believes, “It’s not about the sector that you work in, it’s about what you can bring to the sector, the difference that you can make.”

*Editor’s Note: PR Newswire has rolled out a new online survey, titled “2016 Journalists’ Working Status and News Gathering Habits in Asia-Pacific”, to explore how the new era of digital communication has impacted the professional lives of journalists. The short survey welcomes input from the media community in six major markets – Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan, and is open for participation until May 16, 2016. Stand a chance to win an iPad Air by taking part in the survey! 

Janice Tan is the Audience Development Executive in Singapore at PR Newswire. If you would like your publication to be featured, please get in touch. Follow us on Twitter for more media-related news.