HSBC expands golf sponsorship reach - now has Enjoy Jakarta Indonesia Open

I just compiled this from International Sports Business reports:

Banking firm HSBC now sponsors the "Enjoy Jakarta Indonesian Open."

"Golf is booming and aspirational sport in regions like Asia, where our Group was founded, and which remains crucial to our business" said Richard McHowet, CEO of HSBC Indonesia .

Keld Kristiansen, managing director of event promoter Parallel Media Asia (PMA), echoed the comments and highlighted the continuing rise of high level co-branding and corporate sponsorship deals in emerging territories. He noted that, "Sponsorship is the lifeblood of sport these days and to have a major global company like HSBC so closely involved is a massive boost for the tournament."

That is especially true in this case as the event was resurrected in 2005 by PMA and others after being dormant for several years.

The tournament will continue to be co-sanctioned by the European and Asian Tours as well as the Indonesian Golf Association.

Last year, HSBC also sponsored, the $5 million Shanghai Golf Tournament at Shenshan G.C. (among other international tourneys.)

HSBC's comments from November of last year have indeed come to fruition. They stated:

"`HSBC operates in three principal regions around the world,'' company spokesman Richard Lindsay. ``We sponsor major tournaments in two of those and it's no secret that we were looking for opportunities in Asia."

London-based HSBC is in the third year of a 10-year accord to sponsor golf's World Match Play Championship. The tournament, played at Wentworth in the U.K., had a first prize of 1 million pounds ($1.84 million), the biggest in the sport. The total purse in 2005 will be 2.44 million pounds, $600,000 less than the China event.