Apartfrom Hamburg the biggest investments were made in the Turkish metropolises ofIstanbul and Ankara

Apartfrom Hamburg, the biggest investments were made in the Turkish metropolises ofIstanbul and Ankara. Stroer also advanced the Group`s ongoing mediadigitalization with the introduction of Infoscreens on Warsaw`s Metro trains andwith the installation of "Outdoor TV" in Turkey. The newly developed programmeis the first to create a network of screens on busy thoroughfares and inunderground stations, which allows for the synchronization of advertisingmessages above and under ground. Stroer also plans to promote the furtherdevelopment of moving images in out-of-home advertising with the introduction of"Outdoor TV".

"In 2008, we fought hard and successfully to stand up to the advertising crisis.In 2009, we will continue on this path, clearly focusing on our core markets. Inaddition to our cost cutting programme, which will have a positive effect in2009, we have launched sales campaigns in Germany, Poland and Turkey. Sincethese markets were consolidated only recently, they still have potential even inthe crisis. We want to seize the opportunity to increase the market share ofoutdoor advertising with regard to overall advertising budgets," explains UdoMüller, CEO of Stroer AG. For Udo Müller, the German domestic market still bears the potential of raisingthe advertising market share of out-of-home advertising from currently 4 percentto the European average of 6 to 7 percent as a medium-term goal.

According toNielsen Media Research, important industries, such as retail (plus 52 percent)and automotive (plus 41.5 percent), have significantly increased their posteradvertising spendings between January and April 2009. In both industries, theposter benefited from its status as a sales medium "The poster is the firstwave of attack in sales. As long as people cannot manage to drive with theireyes closed, posters are the only pure offline push medium," says Udo Müller. Stroer CFO Alfried Bührdel is satisfied with the current development of theStroer Group until the end of April 2009. "Given the extremely difficult marketsituation, we are satisfied with a comparative sales drop of only 5%. With thetimely launch of our cost cutting programmes, we were able to increase ourEBITDA by 4% (compared to previous year) in the first months of 2009.

We areprepared for the advertising markets to remain weak for the rest of the year.This applies to all of the Stroer Group`s core markets. So we must continue tofocus our work on consistent sales activities and effective cost management." Note: Group figures based on IFRS standards. Stroer Out-of-Home Media AGJörg LammersManager of Corporate CommunicationsPhone: ++49 (0)2236/9645-246 Fax: -6246E-mail: Business Wire 2009. BEIJING (Reuters) - China could still increase its holdings of U.S.

Treasuries if the dollar is stable, even though the long-term trajectory is to diversify its foreign exchange reserves, a former central bank governor said in an essay. ChinaA number of senior Chinese officials have voiced concern recently about Beijing's exposure to U.S. debt, given what they see as a mounting medium-term risk of inflation in the United States.About 70 percent of China's $1.95 trillion in official foreign exchange reserves is held in dollar assets.The article by Dai Xianglong, former head of the People's Bank of China (PBOC) and currently chairman of China's National Social Security Fund (NSSF), echoed similar comments he made last week that Beijing has little choice but to keep buying U.S. debt."It is still possible for China to increase its investment in U.S. treasuries at appropriate times," Dai wrote in the article, published in the latest issue of China Finance magazine, which is backed by the PBOC.But Dai said that it was not correct to "simply describe the current situation of China's foreign-exchange reserve management as one of falling into a 'dollar trap.'"The World Bank said on Thursday that the pace at which China accumulates forex reserves will slow dramatically.The bank expects they will rise by $218 billion this year after increasing by $419 billion in 2008 and $462 billion in 2007, as outward foreign direct investment increases and due to losses on foreign assets, repatriation of profits and "hot money" outflows.Dai was governor of the PBOC from 1998 to 2002. The NSSF that he now heads is a fund of last resort for China's patchwork of underfunded provincial pensions schemes.(Reporting by Jason Subler and Zhou Xin; Editing by Ken Wills) China.