M&C Saatchi is setting up what it claims to be Asia Pacific’s first specialised global mobile media agency, M&C Saatchi Mobile.

The Singapore-based team will be led by Chris Steedman, a founding executive of M&C Saatchi Mobile in London in 2008. The agency already has offices in the US, South Africa and Australia.

Its new Asia Pacific office aims to service the entire region, including clients in Japan, South Korea, China, India and Australia.

“Asia Pacific is a truly mobile-first region so there’s unquestionably a huge opportunity here. Brands are living in a mobile-first world that needs best-in-class mobile media consultation and services,” said Steedman.

“Many agencies pay lip service to offering mobile media but in reality it’s a bolt-on to their core competency. We are mobile media specialists who have lived and breathed the space since before the first smartphone rolled off the production line.”

Separately, earlier this week M&C Saatchi announced it is to acquire a majority stake in Israeli agency Ben-Natan Golan. The agency will be rebranded M&C Saatchi Tel Aviv.

M&C Saatchi worldwide CEO Moray MacLennan said the high concentration of hi-tech industries present in the region is of “particular interest for future investment”.