Transfer of ownership for BSG

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Hong Kong, 22nd May: Hong Kong-based Business Strategies Group Ltd. (BSG), founded in 2000 by Paul Woodward, announced to transfer its ownership to the current Managing Director, Mark Cochrane.

Since founding, BSG has completed nearly 900 projects. The company has worked will virtually every international B2B media company with operations in Asia including exhibition organisers, print publishers, online platforms, trade associations, government bodies and venue owners and operators. BSG provides research and analysis on the Asian B2B media sector – including events, online and print. The research and advice is supported by a proprietary database of profiles of nearly 3,000 exhibitions in Asia.

Mark has worked with BSG as Consultant in 2006, taking over as MD in 2010. The transfer of ownership will complete in March 2027, and Paul will remain as Chairman and Senior Advisor to BSG.

Paul commented, “Mark Cochrane and his great team have been running BSG on a day-to-day basis for quite a few years now. As I begin to step back from active consulting work, this is the ideal arrangement for the company, its team and its clients. I couldn’t be happier with the plan and am confident that there’s a bright future for BSG as it starts its next 25 years.”

TCEB joins hands with 16 partners

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Thailand, 16th May: The Thailand Convention & Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has launched the “Yok Team Prachum, Rum Rak Mueang Thai Season 2” campaign. Under the theme of “Inviting Office Teams to Go Off-Site Across Thailand”, the marketing initiative is a collaborative effort with 16 leading partner organisations aiming to strengthen the domestic MICE market and making corporate activities contribute to sustainable community development.

According to TCEB, the 2024 campaign generated over 130 million baht (US$3.8 million) in economic impact and attracted 14,971 participants. The 2025 campaign will be benefits for both participants and destination communities under six activity formats and three concepts. The three core concepts are: meetings to promote the community, meetings to promote health, and meetings to promote sustainability.

The primary objectives of the campaign are to promote the organisation of meetings, seminars, corporate events, and incentive travel across Thailand, stimulate income distribution to communities, and drive the sustainable growth of the domestic MICE industry.

TCEB targets the 2025 fiscal year to feature 26 million domestic MICE travellers and 86 billion baht (US$2.5 billion) in revenue.

Mrs. Nichapa Yoswee, Senior Vice President of TCEB, stated, “TCEB recognises that promoting the strong growth of the domestic MICE market is a crucial foundation for supporting the overall development of the national MICE industry and a vital mechanism for driving the economy. Over the past decades, TCEB has consistently pursued a policy focused on developing the domestic MICE market to distribute opportunities and income to regions and communities nationwide. As of the end of March, the domestic MICE market generated over 12.6 million travellers and a total revenue of over 42 billion baht (US$1.2 billion), representing 15.94% growth compared to the same period last year.”

Baidu’s profit up 42% in Q1

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Beijing, 21st May: Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search company, has recently reported revenues of US$4.5 billion for the quarter ended 31st March 2025, which is an increase of 3% year-on-year. The company’s net profit in the quarter jumped 42%, reaching US$1.1 billion. Diluted earnings per share in the quarter were RMB 2.70 (US$0.37).

More than 53% of Baidu’s revenues were generated from its online marketing services, amounting to US$2.4 billion, which presents a drop of 6.4% year-on-year. The remaining revenues, categorised as “other” grew 16%, amounting to US$2.1 billion. According to the company, its AI business was still the key growth driver of its revenues.

Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu, was quoted, “Baidu Core revenue grew 7% year over year in the first quarter, driven by the accelerating momentum of AI Cloud, which surged 42% year over year. The strong performance of our AI Cloud business underscores the growing market recognition of our distinctive strength in providing full-stack AI products and solutions with a highly competitive price-performance advantage. We also achieved a pivotal milestone in our robotaxi business, as Apollo Go expanded internationally by entering Dubai and Abu Dhabi, reinforcing our commitment to bringing safe, comfortable, and affordable autonomous ride-hailing services to global markets. We are confident that our AI-first strategy positions us to remain at the forefront and to capture long-term growth opportunities in the AI era.”

413 MICE events held in Macau in Q1

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Macau, 16th May: Last week, Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released its MICE statistics for the first quarter of 2025. A total of 413 MICE events were held in Macau in the quarter, increase 77 events compared with the first quarter of 2024. The total number of participants and attendees grew 3.7% year-on-year, reaching 188,000.

Of the 413 events, 387 were meetings and conferences. In the first quarter of 2024, there were 317 meetings and conferences held in Macau. The total number of participants at meetings and conferences posted an increase of 5.2%, amounting at 37,000 participants.

A total of 12 exhibitions were held during the quarter, same with the first quarter of 2024. The number of attendees rose 3.8%, to 150,000. However, the total gross area occupied by these exhibitions dropped 18% year-on-year, covering a total area of 35,500 m2.

Quick takes

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GL events acquires Chinese pet veterinary event

GL events announced the acquisition of a 69% stake in East West Small Animals Clinical Veterinary Surgeons Conference (WESAVC), a major event for the pet veterinary industry in Xiamen. Every year, more than 1,000 exhibitors present at the event, occupying an exhibition area of 50,000 m2, and generating sales of €6 million (US$6.8 million).

Singapore leads ICCA rankings in Asia

The International Convention and Congress Association (ICCA) released its 2024 research finds with rankings based on the number of ICCA-recognised meetings have taken place in each destination. Global Top 10 city for the year are Vienna, Lisbon, Singapore, Barcelona, Prague, Paris, Seoul, Bangkok, Rome and Athens. In the Asia-Pacific city, the top 10 city are Singapore, Seoul, Bangkok, Tokyo, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Taipei, Sydney, Melbourne and Bali.

VNU Asia Pacific launches travel show in Bangkok

VNU Asia Pacific will launch Travel & Tech Asia 2025, the inaugural preeminent event and conference dedicated to travel technology and innovation in the region, in Bangkok. Running from 2nd to 3rd July 2025, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC), the event targets on buyers from the government sector, association, chamber of commerce and hotel chains in Thailand.

ABEA secures 10 partnerships

The Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) has secured ten strategic partnerships in two years, including Accommodation Australia – eeger workforce platform, Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Austrade, AIPC, Business Events Australia, COSBOA, IAPCO, ICCA, Service and Creative Skills Australia (SaCSA), and UFI.