CHINA- Aegis Media has made the first of five acquisitions planned in the region this year to shore up its fledgling digital network, Isobar.

Earlier this month, the media agency purchased Taiwanese firm wwwins(知世营销), an interactive specialist with offices in Taipei and Shanghai, to solidify its digital operations in the region.

The move follows hot on the heels of the launch of Isobar, Aegis' new umbrella brand covering its digital and one-to-one assets worldwide. Prior to the wwwins buy, Aegis coordinated its Asia-Pacific interactive offer via a dedicated office in Australia and a loose network of affiliate agencies.

Aegis hopes to make digital investments in four more Asia-Pacific markets by the end of the year under the stewardship of Kim Walker, who has been promoted from his Carat Asia-Pacific COO role to become Asia-Pacific president of Isobar and regional executive director of Aegis Media.

Walker described the wwwins purchase as "an historic first step for our ambitions in the digital one-to-one space in the region". The Taiwanese firm will retain its name, as will future members of Isobar's regional network. "There are no plans at this stage for any of our new partners to change their names, as there is so much equity in their names," Walker said.