UFI re-elects Associations Committee

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Paris, 14th April: UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, announced the election results for Chair and Vice-Chair for its Associations Committee, who will begin their three-year mandate at the 93rd UFI Global Congress in November 2026.

Jörn Holtmeier, Managing Director, AUMA (Association of the German Trade Fair Industry), Germany, has been elected as Chair, while Synthia Chan, Council Chairperson, Macau Fair & Trade Association, Macau, will be Vice-Chair.

In addition to the role as Chair, Jörn will also serve on the UFI Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Synthia will also serve on the UFI Board of Directors as the role of Vice-Chair.

UFI President, Panittha Buri, commented, “On behalf of UFI, I congratulate Jörn and Synthia on their re-election, and thank them for their continued dedication. The Associations Committee is a powerful reflection of what UFI is built on: collective strength, shared knowledge, and a genuine commitment to the industry we all serve. With over 75 associations represented, it plays a vital role in ensuring our members’ voices are heard at every level. I look forward to working alongside them as we continue to serve and strengthen our global community.”

BFB Health’s revenues up 9.8%

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Hong Kong, 31st March: BFB Health (formerly SEEC Media) has recently released its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2025. Total revenues in the year were US$4.3 million, an increase of 9.8% year-on-year. The company posted a net loss of US$2.6 million, compared with the loss of US$3.7 million in 2024.

About 65% of BFB Health’s revenues were generated from its new E-commerce business, amounting to US$2.8 million. Advertising services income accounted for 14% of total revenues, generating US$612,000, which dropped 76% from the previous year. The remaining revenues (US$887,000), were generated from its Interest income from loan receivables, declining 30% year-on-year.

The company has developed digital media marketing services and MCN business since 2020, to diversify its advertising business revenue. In November 2025, the company completed the acquisition through a general mandate. BFB Group operates a health and wellness brand, “Dyesoo”, at various e-commerce platform and MCN.

TCEB partners for Thailand MICE Week

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Thailand, 2nd April: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) announced the partnership with the Thai Exhibition Association (TEA) and the Thailand Incentive and Convention Association (TICA), to elevating the annual MICE Day into Thailand MICE Week 2026, running from 28th to 30th April 2026, at the Queen Sirikit National Convention Center (QSNCC).

Under the partnership, TCEB will bring MICE-related events which were previously organised separately. TEA will co-locate its flagship event, Thailand MUCE X-Change (TMX) 2026. Thailand MICE Week will become an open platform for participants to gain comprehensive insights into Thailand’s MICE industry in one place. It is also aimed to be Thailand’s first Net Zero Carbon Event.

Dr. Supawan Teerarat, President of TCEB, stated, “The co-location of TCEB’s platform and TEA’s TMX is one of the key highlights, serving as a concrete mechanism to bridge ‘policy platforms’ and ‘business platforms’. Thailand MICE Week 2026 will showcase national policies and strategies, knowledge transfer, innovation, and the promotion of standards and sustainability. Meanwhile, Thailand MICE X-Change 2026 will serve as a business negotiation and trade-matching platform. This combination ensures that the event fully covers the entire MICE ecosystem.”

Under the theme of “MICE in Motion: Driving Thailand Towards the Future”, Thailand MICE Week 2026 will feature 12 dedicated activity zones, showcasing new development in Thailand’s MICE industry, expecting to attract 2,000 participants. The event will leverage strong collaboration to create a dynamic MICE ecosystem, positioning Thailand as a Global MICE Destination and driving Thailand towards becoming a Trustworthy Opportunity Connector.

4,500+ industry professionals at Connect Marketplace

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Hong Kong, 1st April: Organised by Informa Markets Asia, the second edition of Connect Marketplace was held at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) in Hong Kong, from 18th to 19th March 2026, welcoming more than 4,500 industry professionals.

Some 150 exhibitors and brands from 28 countries and regions showcased at the events, occupying an exhibition space of about 11,000 m2. conferences were also held alongside with the exhibition, including industry leaders sharing strategies and best practices. In addition, over 2,000 one-to-one business matchings were delivered during the event.

Quick takes

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Easyfairs acquires Food Hotel Tech and Tech For Retail

Easyfairs announced the acquisition of two events serving the hospitality and retail sectors, Food Hotel Tech and Tech For Retail. The acquisition will broader Easyfairs’ growth strategy to enhance its tech portfolio. No financial details for the transaction were released.

Freemans appoints new Projects Director

Freemans Event Partners announced the appointment of Roger Lowe as Projects Director. In the new role, Roger Lowe will focus on driving new ventures, partnerships, and commercial growth across the business. He will also work closely with the Executive Chairman and senior leadership tea, to identify and deliver strategic opportunities beyond Freemans’ core operations, including developing new partnerships, commercial models, and innovative concepts, as well as leading complex projects from concept through to delivery.

HKTDC’s leading spring tech fairs to take place in April

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will organise its four flagship technology fairs in April: InnoEX (jointly organised by the Innovation Technology and Industry Bureau (ITIB) of the HKSAR Government and HKTDC), Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition) (EFSE), Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition) (LFSE) and Smart Lighting Expo (SLE). All four fairs will be held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), featuring over 3,700 exhibitors from 28 countries and regions. InnoEX and EFSE will run from 13th to 16th April, presenting innovation and technology as well as industry applications. While LFSE and SLE will be held from 20th to 23rd April, showcasing the latest smart lighting solutions and innovative products.

Global Sources opens April Hong Kong Show

Global Sources opened its April 2026 Global Sources Hong Kong Show Phase I, running from 11th to 14th April, at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE), including three major international trade shows: Gaming Show, Consumer Electronics Show, and Electronics Components Show. Over 2,000 Asian suppliers occupied more than 4,000 booths, presenting some 150,000 products, covering categories of audio-visual, automative electronics, computer peripherals, commercial electronics, outdoor electronics, gaming and esports, electronic components, and batteries and power supplies. It is expected to attract more than 60,000 international professional B2B buyers.

Australia secures 366 international business events

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Australia, 25th March: According to the Australian Business Events Association (ABEA), Australia has secured 366 international business events for the future, which will generate an estimated A$743.5 million (US$512 million) in delegate spend.

The association also claimed Australia has a strong pipeline of high-value international events, however there is also a growing risk to the future competitiveness as major global destinations ramp up financial support to win business events. It is also shown that international delegates spending 59% more than leisure visitors. During 2018 and 2025, 205 events generated A$1.38 billion (US$951 million) in economic value.

Melissa Brown, CEO, Australian Business Events Association, said, “Business events deliver high-value visitors, global connections and long-term economic impact. This is not just about filling hotel rooms. It is about attracting international decision-makers, investment, research collaboration and trade opportunities into Australia. Right now, the pipeline is strong. But future wins are getting harder. With our limited Business Events Bid Fund Program (BFP), delivered through Tourism Australia, other countries… are gaining ground. Their governments are backing this sector with stronger bid support, and Australia is at risk of losing events we should be winning.”

Meorient’s revenues up 4.5% in FY2025

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Hangzhou, 26th March: Last week, Meorient, a Chinese exhibition organiser listed in Shenzhen, released its results for the year ended 31st December 2025. Revenues increased by 4.5% year-on-year, reaching US$112 million.

However, the company posted a drop in net profit of 12% from the previous year, down to US$19 million. Diluted earnings per share in the year were RMB 0.46 (US$0.066). In 2024, Meorient organised exhibitions in 10 countries with a total exhibition area of 350,000 m2, featuring some 8,000 exhibitors and 370,000 buyers.

Due to changes in international situation, exhibitions were cancelled, putting pressure on the company’s revenue and profit growth. Therefore, the company stabilize foreign trade and effectively helped foreign trade enterprises cope with operational pressures, implement a phased exhibition participation support policy and appropriately lowering the entry threshold for enterprises. In addition, the company increased investment in the research and development of its AI-powered exhibition system and overseas marketing.

Sino Splendid narrows its loss for FY2025

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Hong Kong, 31st March: Earlier this week, Hong Kong-listed Sino Splendid (formerly China.com) announced its results for the financial year ended 31st December 2025. The company reported revenues of US$4.9 million in the year, grew 29% year-on-year. The company narrowed its from US$3.1 million in 2024, down to US$1.3 million.

More than 97% of Sino Splendid’s revenues were generated from its financial magazines and other media services, amounting to US$4.8 million, up 28% year-on-year. While the remaining revenues were generated from its travel media business, amounting at just US$122,000.

According to the company, the increase in revenues was mainly due to the improvement of the financial performance of the financial magazine and other media services business.

In the coming years, the company will continue to devote resources to further increase its market share. In addition, the company will also continue to commit to its core business (travel media business) by leveraging on its solid experience.

Quick takes

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CCID drops in revenues and profits

Research and information service provider in China, CCID Consulting, has recently announced its financial results for 2025. Revenues were US$41 million, down 4.9% year-on-year. While net profit for the year dropped 16%, amounting to US$9.6 million. Earnings per share in 2025 were RMB 0.1063 (US$0.015). During the year, the company focused on four key areas (ICT, advanced manufacturing, regional economy, and technology services), to deliver innovation integrated services and digital empowerment services.

New Shanghai Fair Healthcare in Malaysia

Shanghai Fair Healthcare, organised by the Shanghai Fair Committee and Shanghai Sail International Convention & Exhibition Co., Ltd., will be launched in Malysia, running from 22nd to 23rd May 2026, at Hall 1, Malaysia International Trade and Exhibition Centre (MITEC), bringing together leading healthcare enterprises from Shanghai with Southeast Asia’s healthcare market. The new event will feature about 80 healthcare enterprises representing 160 exhibitors, showcasing medical equipment, health technologies and medical services, and occupying an exhibition area of 3,126 m2.

IBTM launches Asia Pacific event in Bangkok in 2027

International exhibition organiser, RX Global, will expand its IBTM portfolio to the Asia-Pacific region, by launching IBTM Asia Pacific in Bangkok. The new event will be held at Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC), running from 9th to 10th June 2027, bringing together corporate, association and agency buyers from across the Asia-Pacific region with global destinations, venues, hotels and suppliers.

58,000+ visitors at Laser World of Photonics Shanghai

The 21st Laser World of Photonics Shanghai concluded at Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) on 20th March 2026, with total exhibition area expanding by 8% from the previous edition. The three-day event featured nearly 1,500 companies from 22 countries and regions, showcasing core photonics fields. A total of 58,281 visitors attended the event.

Alibaba’s revenues up and profit down

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Hong Kong, 19th March: Last week, the Alibaba Group, the largest e-commerce company in China, released its results for the quarter ended 31st December 2025. The company posted total revenues of US$41 billion in the quarter, up 2% year-on-year.

However, the net income dropped 66% year-on-year, down to US$2.2 billion. The company attributed the decrease to the investment in quick commerce, user experiences, and technology.

In terms of B2B business, revenues from Alibaba’s China commerce wholesale under the Alibaba China E-commerce Group, primarily generated through 1688.com, were US$990 million, a year-on-year increase of 5%. Meanwhile, the International commerce wholesale business under the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, primarily operating through Alibaba.com, generated revenues of US$980 million, a 10% increase over the previous year. B2B revenues accounted for only 4.8% of the group’s total revenues in the quarter.

Alibaba also announced its results for the nine months ended 31st December. Revenues in the nine-month period were US$116 billion, an increase of 2.7% year-on-year. Net income decreased by 31% in the period, amounting at US$11 billion. Diluted earnings per share in the first nine months of the financial year were RMB 4.18 (US$0.60).

Eddie Wu, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group, said, “This quarter, Alibaba maintained strong investments across our core pillars of AI and consumption. AI is and will continue to be one of our primary growth engines. Our Cloud Intelligence Group’s revenue is up 36% with AI-related product revenue delivering triple-digit growth for the tenth consecutive quarter. Our Model-as-a-Service (MaaS) platform is showing strong growth, emerging as a new engine driving cloud business growth. On the consumer side, we have integrated use cases across our consumer ecosystem into Qwen app, which generated significant new users and transactions. Qwen’s consumer interface surpassed 300 million monthly active users, as AI agents perform real-world task execution at scale. Looking ahead, we are well-positioned to drive growth on both enterprise AI and consumer AI fronts, powered by our fullstack AI capabilities spanning foundation models, cloud infrastructure, and proprietary chips, alongside deep integration with our broader ecosystem.”

Made-in-China.com up 15% in revenue

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Nanjing, 20th March: Last week, Shenzhen-listed Focus Technology, owner and operator of Made-in-China.com, reported its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2025. Revenues in the year were US$273 million. That represents an increase of 15% year-on-year, due to the stable revenue growth from Made-in-China.com platform.

The Nanjing-based company’s net income in year grew 11%, reaching US$72 million. The company attributed the increase in income to the continuous cost reduction and efficiency improvement. Diluted earnings per share for 2025 were RMB 1.58 (US$0.22).

As of 31st December, Made-in-China.com had a total of 29,793 paid users on its platform, which is a year-on-year increase of 8.7%.

50,000+ visits at 2026 CDIIF

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Chengdu, 13th March: A major industrial event in central and western China, 2026 Chengdu International Industrial Fair (CDIIF) concluded at the Western China International Expo City, drawing 50,372 visits during the three-day event.

Running from 11th to 13th March 2026, CDIIF 2026 featured over 550 exhibitors from around the world, occupying an exhibition area of more than 50,000 m2. Under the theme of “Innovate Industry Chain, Make a Low-Carbon Future”, the event showcased forward-looking industry insights and many cooperation outcomes, injecting strong early-year momentum into the high-quality development of western China’s manufacturing sector.

This year’s event featured themed exhibitions areas of automation, CNC machine tools and metalworking, robotics, and information and communication technology. A specially established Sichuan Industrial Chain Exhibition also included, making the event formed a comprehensive, full-industry-chain display.

HKTDC’s FILMART and EntertainmentPulse features 790+ exhibitors

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Hong Kong, 20th March: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s (HKTDC) 30th Hong Kong International Film & TV Market (FILMART) and EntertainmentPulse featured over 790 exhibitors from 38 countries and regions, bringing together enterprises from emerging markets and mature film markets.

About 8,000 industry professionals from 53 countries and regions attended the two events, highlighting the development momentum and collaborative potential of the global film and television industry.

One of the highlights of this year FILMART was AI Hub, showcasing the latest AI technologies and solutions from the leading AI and technology companies. Forums were also held during FILMART, focusing on the latest developments in the global film, television and entertainment technology sectors. Meanwhile, EntertainmentPulse addressed popular topics.

Quick takes

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IEG’s new acquisition

Italian Exhibition Group (IEG), a leading exhibition organiser in Italy, has acquired 51% of the NIS Summit – Nutrition Innovation Summit, functional ingredients, health and supplement market in Brazil’s main business and innovation platform. The transaction, costing R$20 million (US$3.78 million), will further strengthens the expansion strategy into structural segments with constant growth and low sensitivity to economic cycles. After the transaction, the current NIS members will remain at the helm until 2029, IEG will exercise the option to purchase the remaining 49% at the end of the period.

Macau welcomes 4m visitor arrivals in February

In February 2026, Macau recorded an increase of 33% year-on-year in the number of visitor arrivals, reaching 4,172,940, mainly driven by the Lunar New Year holidays. Same-day visitors were up by 42%, while overnight visitors grew by 19%. However, the average length of stay of visitors shortened by 0.2 day year-on-year, down to 0.9 day.

IEG’s revenues up 6.6% in FY2025

Italian Exhibition Group S.p.A. (IEG) released its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2025, reporting revenues of €266 million (US$313 million), up 6.6% year-on-year. The growth was due to the development of its events in the organised events business line to the tune, and the increasing influence of the conference division. However, net profit for the year decreased by 6.3%, amounting at €30.4 million (US$36 million). In 2025, the company completed four acquisitions. In the future, under its 2025-2030 Strategic Plan, the company will expand its portfolio with the launch of new events, with the goal of introducing at least one new trade fair each year.

Informa Markets’ revenues up 11% in 2025

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London, 12th March: Informa PLC released its full year results for the year ended 31st December 2025, reporting revenues of £4.04 billion (US$5.4 billion), which represents underlying growth of 6.3%. Adjusted operating profits for the year were £1.14 billion (US$1.5 billion), representing underlying growth of 8.7%.

In 2025, Informa Markets, part of Informa’s B2B Live Events business, reported revenues of £1.96 billion (US$2.6 billion), representing underlying growth of 11%. Revenues generated from the B2B Live Events business for the year were £3.0 billion (US$40.4 billion), with adjusted operating profits of £857.5 million (US$1.2 billion).

Stephen A. Carter, Group Chief Executive, Informa PLC, said, “The Informa Group delivered an outstanding performance in 2025, delivering double-digit growth in revenues, adjusted earnings per share and cash flow. The Power of Live, the value of proprietary First Party Data, deep international reach and the deployment of AI technology are driving strong customer demand for our specialist Brands, underpinning our confidence in the compounding growth opportunities for Informa.”

In 2026, the company targets higher underlying revenue growth at about 6%, with B2B Live Events underlying growth of over 7%.

Pico Thailand posts loss in Q1

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Bangkok, 16th March: Earlier this week, Pico Thailand, the Thai-listed subsidiary of Pico Far East Holdings, announced its results for the quarter ended 31st January 2026. Revenues during the quarter were US$6.2 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 34%.

The company posted a net loss of US$426,000 in the quarter, compared with a profit of US$239,000 recorded in the same quarter last year.

The company attributed the decrease in revenues to a decline in income from the public sector due to the political climate, particularly during the transition period under a caretaker government, which impacted budget approvals and project decision-making.

Separately, Pico Thailand announced the approval of the appointment of Ms. Chia Yuan Jiun, as the Chairman of the Board of Directors of the company, effective from 16th March 2026.

SM Hotels to open 3 new trade halls

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Manila, February: SMX Convention Center in the Philippines will open three new SMX Trade Halls in the fourth quarter in 2026 in Luzon, which will be located in Cabanatuan, Nueva Ecija; Santo Tomas, Batangas; and Santa Rosa, Laguna.

The new halls will be owned and managed by SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation (SMHCC), providing more than 13,000 m2 of total leadable exhibition space, positioning the new halls as thriving commercial hubs to serve regional demand while supporting national event expansion beyond Manila.

SM Hotels and Conventions Corporation Senior Vice President Mr. Walid Wafik, was quoted, “With the addition of these three trade halls, we are not only expanding our geographic reach but also creating more opportunities for businesses and communities to connect. Our continued investments reflect our confidence in the Philippines’ growing MICE potential and our mission to deliver accessible, high-quality event spaces across the country.”