Communications holding company Publicis Groupe reported a 30 percent revenue growth in the first quarter with digital accounting for nearly half the bottom line.
In India, the focus is on strengthening its media agency business. The company's Chairman & CEO, Maurice Lévy spoke exclusively to CNBC-TV18 on how India is poised to become its second largest market and what he would like to see change in the country.Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview to CNBC-TV18
Q: Coming to India, last five, six years all your agencies in the creative side have settled down better with their work. Sort of problems they have become better, but your media business is been a bit of a clout for sometime and are you paying any attention there?
A: No, we are not paying any attention. I knew that you will find something to be nice to me. The growth that we have seen this morning looking at the first quarter and the first four months, is very positive on both operations ZenithOptimedia as well as Starcom MediaVest. It is also very clear that when you look at these operations, they are stronger on digital than on analogue and that they are growing faster on digital than on analogue. But at the same time they are winning everyday
Q: But how much will you say, companies like your Publicis or even you Sapient Corp or even Razorfish contribute to the strengthening of your media agencies?
A: Media will play a very important role in the Publicis Groupe. We will have more people in India than we have in France. We have in France something close to 7,000, we have 12,000. It will be second only to the US. So, this tells a lot because when we have 75,000 people which is the group, we have almost 20 percent of our work-force which is in this country.
Q: Now you have announced that you are going to retire in May, 2017. Tell me between now and May, 2017 what will you like to see changed here?
A: What I would like to see changing is a bit less of red tape. It is really one of the disease of India, which is holding India back. Infrastructure is something on which India needs to invest. And if you look at the country, there is so many assets that you have. If you can sustain that kind of growth, invest in housing, you will have a lot of, millions of people, hundreds millions of people out of poverty and taken to middle class.
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