Financial Newspaper postpones launch

The credit crunch has taken its toll on the operators the Financial Newspaper, which has postponed its launch date to early next year.ST Lui, COO for Financial Newspaper said the launch schedule has been delayed partly because of the current economic climate but largely due to an additional media partner.Lui declined to name the partner but said that the deal will result in a 30% to 40% increase in circulation and distribution to commercial buildings. He added that a website will launch next year. at the same time.Meanwhile, chief editor Lisa Lee and editor Sam Shum have left the company. Lui said the company is in the process of recruiting a chief editor.He stressed that the slowing economy had not shrunk the editorial team and that he intends to hire another chief editor to join the current team of eight journalists. They are also in the process of adding a manager in the marketing department.Lui did admit however that the advertising situation was not looking good.Caroline Chan, general manager for OMD, said banking groups are now more cautious and conservative about how they spend their marketing budgets, adding that existing finance media already face a challenging future. "It will be an even bigger challenge for newcomers," Chan said.