To be sure, problems at home are catching up with agencies in the Asian-Pacific region, threatening staff cuts and constraining growth at a time when opportunities abound. In addition, the rising sophistication of Asian companies and consumers is making agencies work harder to woo local accounts and find more ways to persuade increasingly choosy buyers. Nevertheless, prospects remain fairly rosy. Most of the region's markets have boomed as consistent economic expansion has helped small companies gain national status and national companies seek regional and global growth. Local companies now make up 70% of a typical agency's revenues, while billings from multinational clients, who brought agencies to the region in the first place, have slipped to 30%. Healthy economies also have created an emerging middle class that wants access to the good life portrayed on television. That has pushed multinational companies beyond regionally oriented media directly into local markets and allowed global agencies to capitalize on rising consumption of affordable luxury goods such as cigarettes and alcohol. Foreign agencies are enjoying a similar bonanza in Indonesia. Deregulation of the television industry spurred 60% growth in ad spending in 1991, according to Media, and a recent satellite launch promises further expansion this year. Bangkok Land Co.'s flurry of ads for middle-class condominiums fueled 26% growth in billings in Thailand last year. Singapore's broadcasting expansion promises improvement on last year's 15% growth led by department stores. Spending in the Hong Kong industry grew 14% last year despite a December 1990 ban on TV cigarette advertising.