Engage to shutter Singapore arm

SINGAPORE--The dot-com tsunami has claimed yet another victim--Internet advertising and marketing firm Engage Inc has decided to pull the plug on its Singapore unit.

In August, Engage said that it would trim its global staff strength by 20 percent or 125 positions and sell its media business. These cuts were the second this year after a January decision to ax 550 employees worldwide. Last Thursday, it decided to sell its Adknowledge assets, including source code that allows marketers to place advertisements over the Web, to US-based online ad technology firm Bluestreak. Part of Engage's customer lists were also acquired.

Apart from the media business, Engage's software business licenses its content-management technology to companies. Its Hong Kong and Australia units could also follow suit, but McIntosh declined to speculate, saying further announcements would be made during Engage's earnings call next week. However, he confirmed that a total of 13 employees will be laid off from both offices, leaving only 10 workers to man its software unit in the two countries.

Since January, Engage has cut about 45 positions in Asia from a total headcount of 75. In May, it closed offices in Malaysia, Thailand and Korea as part of its cost-cutting exercise, McIntosh said.

Engage established its Asian operations last August when it acquired Hong Kong-based Space Asia Media Ltd. Engage Asia counts Northwest Airlines, Nokia, Monster.com, 3Com, SAP and IBM among its online advertisements clients.

Unfortunately, like many online advertising companies, it has been hobbled by weakened demand for ad technology and media services following the demise of numerous dotcoms. The company's ill-fortune escalated early August when its majority shareholder CMGI Inc withdrew funding. Engage will cease to serve advertisements on its global network after September 23, and shut down its entire media business September 28. --Irene Tham, Special to ZDNet News