Australian Business Events Association appoints inaugural CEO

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Australia, 17th July: The newly launched Australia Business Events Association (ABEA) has appointed Melissa Brown as its first CEO. She will assume the role on 4th September 2023.

Melissa brings to ABEA a diverse professional background ranging from start-ups and non-profit organisations to medium-sized enterprises and multi-nationals. She has worked with renowned organisations worldwide, and recently returned to Australia to contribute her expertise to a cyber security start-up. She also played a pivotal role in managing the Australian Chamber of Commerce in London, building her associate membership and advocacy program through skilful stakeholder engagement.

First ILDEX Philippines draws 7,100 visitors

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Manila, 13th July: The inaugural ILDEX Philippines and Philippine Poultry Show has concluded with positive feedback. Over 7,100 industry professionals from more than 40 countries attended the show, with over 180 global brands from more than 20 countries showcasing the latest advancements, cutting-edge technologies, and innovative products in the industry.

VNU Asia Pacific, organiser of ILDEX Philippines, and Deltaman, organiser of Philippine Poultry Show, confirmed the dates of the next edition of the shows, which will run from 28th to 30th August 2024 at SMX Convention Center in Manila. The 2024 edition will expand the business profiles from farm to food, covering animal health, pharmaceutical products, ingredients, farm equipment, feed additives, breeding & hatching, packaging and labelling. A Meat Pro Pavilion will be added to present food processing and other agri-technology highlights, covering the full supply chain from feed to food for the Asia region.

ISPO Shanghai 2023 visitor numbers up 100%

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Shanghai, 17th July: ISPO Shanghai 2023 returned to Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) from 30th June to 2nd July 2023, featuring 511 Chinese and international brands from 395 exhibitors. A total of 40,174 industry visitors and sports fans attended the exhibition.

According to the organiser, the number brands increased by 50% over the previous editions, while the number of visitors grew 100%. A total of 140 international brands were showcased at ISPO Shanghai, accounting for 27% of the exhibiting brands and representing an increase of 1.7 times over the previous edition. In addition to the trade show, ISPO Shanghai held forums and lectures on hot topics, and also introduced a new “ISPO Sports Park” section.

WATERTECH CHINA partners with Informa Markets

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Shanghai, 17th July: A leading international water technology exhibition, Watertech China, concluded last month at the National Exhibition and Convention Center (NECC) in Shanghai, achieving a new record in scale in its first year of China’s full economy recovery.

The organiser, Herui Group, has established a strategic partnership with leading exhibition group, Informa Markets, to improve the value proposition of Watertech China and broaden its development scope to continuously create value for the industry and participants.

Quick takes

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MITEC hosts over 91,000 fans at Tokyo Auto Salon

Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC) hosted the inaugural edition of Tokyo Auto Salon Kuala Lumpur from 9th to 11th June, treating over 91,000 car enthusiasts to an impressive display of specially-imported, awe-inspiring cars from Japan – as well as a wide range of exhibitors featuring automotive players of all sizes from Malaysia and ASEAN.

gamescom asia introduces new physical B2C Entertainment Zone

The 2023 edition of gamescom asia will be held in Singapore from 19th to 22nd October. This year’s event will feature a physical B2C Entertainment Zone exhibition for the first time, and Capcom is the first major publisher confirming their participation. The Entertainment Zone will showcase trending games, interactive entertainment and featured areas for esports, cosplay, board games, group play zones and more.

RX appoints new UK president

International exhibition organiser RX has named Rachel Travers as its new president for the RX UK Hub business unit (UK, Middle East, Turkey, South Africa and India), effective 1st September 2023. She will report to Hugh Jones, Global CEO.

Mega Show Bangkok 2023 hits BITEC this week

Jointly organised by Comasia and Worldex, Mega Show Bangkok 2023 was held from 19th to 21st July at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). The event features more than 500 booths showcasing the latest products and designs from Asia, and is expected to draw manufacturers and suppliers from throughout the region, as well as the US and UK.

Hong Kong to host UFI Global Congress in 2025

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Paris/Hong Kong, 11th July: UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, announced its 92nd UFI Global Congress will be held in Hong Kong at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) in 2025. The congress will also include activities throughout the Greater Bay Area.

As the largest global meeting of the year, UFI Global Congress gathers hundreds of industry leaders from around the world to network and learn. The congress is held in a different location every year. The congress was last held in Asia in 2019 in Bangkok. The last time it was held in Hong Kong in the year 2000.

RX Global make progress rebuilding in China

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China, 12th July: After China’s reopening for business in January this year, RX Global (formerly Reed Exhibitions) also began restart it sizable portfolio in China. According to RX Global, its first exhibition held in the Greater China in 2023 was PCHi 2023, running from 15th to 17th February in Guangzhou.

Shows serving the gift and homeware industries, the Beijing and Shenzhen Gift Fairs, were held in March and April, respectively. In May, Bakery China, which serves the bakery and confectionery industry, was held in Shanghai. The China International Medical Equipment Fair (CMEF), covering the medical devices value chain show hosted its spring edition in Shanghai in May.

In addition to re-establishing its existing shows in China, RX Global also announced to launch five news shows and open a new office in Shenzhen.

Constellar appoints new Chief Executive (Markets)

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Singapore, 6th July: Singapore-based Constellar has announced a new appointment to its executive team. Paul Lee, its new Chief Executive (Markets), will be tasked with driving sustainable growth for Constellar across new and existing markets.

With close to 20 years of experience in the exhibition industry across both B2B and B2C segments, Lee is experienced in driving business growth through strategy, launches and acquisitions.

Sarawak surpasses MICE targets for FY2022

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Sarawak, 12th July: After the COVID pandemic, Sarawak’s business events performance in its FY2022 surpassed targets on both economic and event impact returns.

During the financial year, Sarawak hosted a total of 100 business events, contributing RM230 million (US$50 million) in total economic impact. According to media reports, another RM125 million (US$27 million) was generated from direct delegate expenditure, and over 18,000 short- and long-term jobs were created in the year.

Quick takes

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Messe Frankfurt roars back to robust business

The group is expecting revenues of €600 million for the financial year 2023. And in the financial year 2022, revenues were €454 million vs. of €154 million in 2021. In 2022, €314 million were generated in Germany. Its net loss has been reduced to €26 million. A total of 310 events took place in the past financial year, with more than 46,500 exhibiting companies and over 2.4 million visitors.

Newly formed ABEA has 90-day plan

The Australian Business Events Association (ABEA) was officially formed on 3rd July. Now the super association has released its first 90-Day Plan with provides a short-term roadmap covering industry development, community, research, professional development, and advocacy.

Informa brings Super Terminal Expo to Hong Kong

Informa Markets will bring Super Terminal Expo to AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) in 2024. The event brings together aviation, shipping, rail, and road industries. It will be held from 5th to 7th November next year at AWE along with the support of the Centre for Aviation (CAPA).

Pico 2023 interim results: profits rise 47%

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Hong Kong, 30th June: In a good sign for the industry, last week, Hong Kong-listed Pico Far East Holdings announced its interim results for the six months ended 30th April 2023. Revenues were US$319 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 6.3%.

Profits in the six-month period grew 47% amounting at US$13 million. Diluted earnings per share in the first half of the financial year were HK$0.0816 (US$0.0104).

More than 86% of Pico’s revenues were generated from its exhibition, event & brand activation business amounting to US$275 million. This business was up by 12% year-on-year.

Hong Kong’s business events industry rebounds

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Hong Kong, 29th June: Hong Kong is welcoming new conferences wins which the city is adding to its portfolio of returning trade shows – all of which are boosting its business events profile in the region.

Newly won events include: EDGE Global AI & Web3 Investment Summit, FOMO Asia Genesis Conference, WOW Summit 2023, and the Insurtech Insights Asia 2023 Conference. The events will be held the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) and various hotels.

MCEC posts record number of visitors in May

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Melbourne, 3rd July: In May, the Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre (MCEC) recorded its most active month in its history, welcoming over 89,000 visitors to the venue.

During May, more than 76 events were hosted at MCEC, including manufacturing, hospitality, health, business, industry and consumer events. According to MCEC, the venue employed some 1,000 people to support over 1,700 suppliers and businesses in the operation and delivery of the events.

Separately, the Melbourne Convention Bureau (MCB) also reported that it hosted 46 business events in May, contributing approximately US$100 million to the local economy of the state of Victoria.

WieTec China partners with Informa Markets

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Shanghai, 27th June: WieTec China, an exhibition serving the environmental industry, concluded earlier this month for the first time since China’s reopening. More than 3,500 brands presented over 90,000 products from the environmental industry.

The organisers of WieTec China, All-China Environment Federation, China Energy Conservation Association and Shanghai Hexiang Convention and Exhibition, have also announced that they have established a strategic partnership with Informa Markets in order to broaden its international reach.

Inaugural PIFA2023 held in Singapore

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Singapore, 26th June: Pro Integration Future Asia 2023 (PIFA2023), a professional audiovisual and entertainment lighting (AVL) technologies exhibition and conference, was launched in Singapore, featuring some 100 exhibitors from 13 countries.

Running from 26th to 28th June 2023, the show was organised by Montgomery Events Asia, with its strategic partner, the Professional Audio Visual & Lighting Integration Association of Singapore (AVLIAS). It was held at Marina Bay Sands Expo & Convention Centre.

HKTDC opens its Book Fair in July

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Hong Kong, 29th June: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will run its enormous Hong Kong Book Fair next month at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) showcasing more than 760 exhibitors.

It will be held concurrently with the Hong Kong Sports & Leisure Expo and World of Snacks. These fairs will run from 19th to 25th July 2023. This year’s Book Fair theme will be Children’s and Young Adult Literature, featuring children’s and young adults’ literature.

Quick takes

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Monica Lee-Müller honoured by HK government

Former UFI president, Monica Lee-Müller, the managing director of HKCEC will receive, later this year, the Medal of Honour from John Lee, Chief Executive of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government. Congratulations, Monica!

Macau to make it easier to hire overseas talent

It seems all industries across Asia are dealing with a talent shortfall. Tiny Macau needs to address this problem head-on. Macau is planning to open its doors to overseas talent. The government wants to attract at least 1,000 non-local professionals through a strategy covering healthcare, high-tech, finance, culture, sport, and tourism.

IATA revises HK’s aviation recovery period

Hong Kong’s economy and its business events industry cannot recover if the air links to the city are not re-established to at least 2019 levels. Fortunately, IATA has upgraded its passenger traffic recovery projection for Hong Kong. It is now expecting to see a recovery to pre-crisis levels by the end of 2024.

RX appoints new Global CSO

First RX appointed Hugh Jones as CEO coming from outside the exhibition industry. And now Jones has hired Peter Lindsey, the ex-Chief Strategy Officer at the Telegraph Media Group and from Bain & Company before that. It will be interesting to see where they take RX.