Koelnmesse launches new JV in Indonesia

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Jakarta, 12th May: International exhibition organiser, Koelnmesse, continues to expand its business in the Aisa-Pacific region, by establishing a joint venture in Indonesia, with Indonesia exhibition organiser, AMARA Expo. The new JV, PT. Nine Koeln Indonesia, headquartered in Jakarta, representing Koelnmesse’s 11th international entity and first dedicated company in Indonesia.

Through the new JV, Koelnmesse aims to drive the further development of Indonesia’s trade fair industry while expanding access to international markets and business networks. PT, Nine Koeln Indonesia will organise several trade fairs in 2026.

AMARA Expo, a leading Indonesia exhibition organiser, has a proven track record of delivering high-impact B2B trade platforms across diverse industrial sectors. Under the new JV, AMARA Expo will continue to drive innovation and economic growth by connecting global suppliers with Indonesia’s expanding industrial landscape.

Gerald Böse, CEO of Koelnmesse, explained, “Further internationalisation is a core element of our corporate strategy. Our goal is to connect global industries with strong regional ecosystems. Indonesia – and Southeast Asia as a whole – offer enormous potential in this regard. Together with the AMARA Expo, we are further strengthening our presence on the ground while linking regional growth markets with our international portfolio and global networks.”

Alibaba posts 3% increase in revenues in FY2025-2026

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Hong Kong, 13th May: Earlier this week, China’s largest e-commerce company, the Alibaba Group, announced its financial results for the year ended 31st March 2026. Revenues in the financial year were US$148 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 3%. However, net income in the year dropped 19% from the previous year, down to US$15 billion. Diluted earnings per share for the year were RMB 44 (US$6.38).

In terms of its B2B business, revenues generated from Alibaba’s B2B business in China under the Taobao and Tmall Group, mainly through its 1688.com platform, were US$3.82 billion, resulting in a year-on-year increase of 8%. The international B2B business under the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, primarily on Alibaba.com, posted an 11% increase in revenues, amounting at US$3.83 billion. The B2B businesses only accounted for just 5.2% of Alibaba’s total revenues.

The Alibaba Group also released its results for the quarter ended 31st March, with revenues of US$35 billion, representing growth of 3% year-on-year. Net profit in the quarter jumped 96% over the same quarter in 2025, amounting at US$3.4 million.

Eddie Wu, Chief Executive Officer of Alibaba Group, said, “Alibaba’s full-stack AI investments have progressed from incubation to commercialization at scale. This quarter, we achieved accelerated breakthroughs across models, cloud infrastructure, and applications. Cloud Intelligence Group’s external revenue growth accelerated to 40%, with AI-related products accounting for 30% of this revenue. Our Qwen LLM demonstrated leadership in reasoning and coding while we strengthened our multimodal model portfolio with the launch of video generation and world models. As we see massive potential for agentic AI, we launched multiple enterprise AI agents for office and coding use cases, and we fully integrated e-commerce capabilities into the consumer-facing Qwen app, deepening synergies between AI and our consumer ecosystem.”

BOL’s revenues up 10% in Q1

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Bangkok, 12th May: Business Online (BOL), a leading online business information service provider in Thailand, has recently reported its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2026. The company recorded revenues of US$6.1 million for the quarter, an increase of 10% year-on-year.

BOL’s net profit for the three-month period increased by 8.8%, reaching US$2.3 million. Diluted earnings per share in the first quarter of 2026 were Baht 0.09 (US$0.0027).

The company attributed the increase in revenues to be supported by growth in information services income and other service income, which reflected a broader contribution across multiple business segments, together with the analytics services through the introduction of new features designed to enhance business linkages. Due to increase in income from both new and existing customers, the company posted increases in its information services income.

CPHI India & PMEC India 2026 separate in two venues

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New Delhi, 6th May: Organised by Informa Markets India, the upcoming CPHI India and PMEC India will expand to take place in two separate venues in Delhi-NCR, aiming at enhancing scale, specialisation, and visitor experience.

CPHI India, showcasing APIs, excipients, and formulations, will be held at Yashobhoomi in Dwarka, New Delhi, from 23rd to 25th November 2026. While PMEC India, presenting machinery, packaging, lab equipment, and clean technologies, and will run from 24th to 26th November 2026, at India Expo Mart.

Informa Markets India aims to improve navigation, enhances business interactions, and creates more targeted networking opportunities for exhibitors and visitors alike, though the two formats. It is expected to deliver a more efficient and productive experience, reinforcing India’s position as a global hub for pharmaceutical manufacturing, innovation, and sourcing.

Quick takes

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Informa TechTarget narrows loss in Q1

Informa TechTarget released its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2026, with reported revenues of US$106 million, a moderate growth of 2.1% year-on-year. The company claimed the growth in revenues to its business segments delivering improvement. The company narrowed its net loss from US$523 million, down to US$71 million recorded in the quarter. It was due to the decrease in its technical non-cash goodwill impairment.

Netsun down in revenues and profit

Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Netsun reported its results for the quarter ended 31st March 2026. Netsun’s revenues in the quarter dropped 4.3%, down to US$22 million. The company’s net profit in the quarter was US$166,000, which represented a year-on-year decline of 29%. The company did not comment on its performance for the quarter.

HKTDC concluded its medical events

The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded its sixth Asia Summit on Global Health (ASGH) and the 17th Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair (Medical Fair). Jointly organised with the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, ASGH gathered about 3,00 participants from 43 countries and regions. While the Medical Fair attract some 13,000 buyers from 61 countries and regions. The two events facilitated more than 1,000 high-quality collaborations and connections, demonstrating the synergy between medical technology, investment and industry applications.

Deutsche Messe restructures Executive Board

International exhibition organiser, Deutsche Messe AG, announced the restructuring its leadership team and aligning its Executive Board. The company will expand the board to three members:

·       Dr. Jochen Köckler, Chief Executive Officer of Deutsche Messe AG

·       Dr. Holger Feist, Executive Board of Deutsche Messe AG

·       Konstantin Kühl, Executive Board of Deutsche Messe AG

The new Executive Board will enable the company to set clear strategic priorities in the trade fair business, digitalization, and site development & transformation.