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In a significant development for Starcom in China, their largest account, Procter & Gamble Co. has pulled its non-TV tactical planning and buying business in China. The non-TV business, worth several million dollars in fees, accounted for about one-third of the fees P&G pays Starcom in China. P&G is the biggest advertiser in China, spending more than $1 billion a year, and is also Starcom’s biggest client in mainland China.

P&G is expected to hold a pitch for the non-TV business that could include other agencies that work with P&G globally. One of them, WPP Group’s Mediacom, already handles planning for some P&G business in China and it was reported in AdAge China that they are considered the front-runner. The pitch will be handled by P&G China executives including Laura Xiong, P&G’s general manager, Greater China and Sameer Singh, who arrives in Guangzhou, P&G’s headquarters for Greater China, later this summer as associate director of media for the region.