My colleague Charles Laughlin kicked off ILM Asia — a conference organized by BIA/Kelsey and the Asian Directory Publisher Association (ADPAI) — with the results of a survey of business leaders operating in the local search space in Asia.

Among the most interesting findings is that 92 percent of the respondents believe publishers must “transform now, or die.” If we think mobile is a key trend in the U.S., it is even more pronounced here in Asia. When compared with mobile users in the U.S. and Europe, Asian mobile users are significantly more mobile savvy and demonstrate a greater willingness to use their mobile device to:

–        Check their bank account

–        Make a purchase

–        Use a QR code

–        Transfer money

–        Accept location centric ads

–        Accept personal centric ads

It should be an interesting two days here in Singapore with the directory publisher leaders.