What attracted you to title sponsor the HKPGA Championship, an event that hasn't been played since 2004?
We already had a sporting presence in football through FCBescola, the junior football programme run in conjunction with Barcelona FC; however, we also wanted a “space” in golf. We did sponsor a World Cup Qualifier for golf but after two years believed we had extracted as much value as we could; so we had a look at what other opportunities were available to us from which we could secure the right exposure. We strongly believed the HKPGA represented such an opportunity.
You've agreed to sponsor the HKPGA Championship through until 2012. Where do you see the event – in terms of the quality of the field, prize-money on offer and its recognition throughout the region – by that time?
We will take a good look at this year’s event to see what lessons can be learned and how we can make this a bigger and better tournament. One of the key objectives must be to attract more foreign players, which is certainly possible given the time of year the event is played – there's a bit of a lull at the end of September on the Asian Tour. If we can secure the appropriate levels of support both locally and regionally we will give the championship the appropriate investment to raise its profile.
