Chengdu Motor Show 2020 features 1,500 cars

Chengdu, 2nd August: Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai, a subsidiary of Deutsche Messe in China, recently opened its first major event since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak – the 23rd edition of Chengdu Motor Show, which was held at the Western China International Expo City. Running from 25th July to 2nd August, the exhibition featured over 120 car brands and showcased more than 1,500 cars. The event occupied a total exhibition area of 160,000 m2.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, car sales increased 10.4% in the second quarter of 2020 compared with the same quarter last year, reflecting the increasing demand for new car purchases and vehicle replacement after the pandemic was brought under control in China.

Meorient’s revenues plummet 89% in first half

Shanghai, 30th July: Last week, Shenzhen-listed, exhibition organiser, Meorient released its results for the six months ended 30th June 2020. The group’s revenues in the first half of 2020 were just US$2.6 million – representing a massive 89% decline compared with the same period last year. The Hangzhou-based company posted a loss of US$7.6 million in the six-month period, compared with a net profit of US$2.3 million in the first six month of 2019.

As a result of the global pandemic, Meorient postponed its exhibitions in Turkey, Poland, Mexico, and Nigeria in April, May and June resulting in the steep decline in its revenues in the first half. In the same period, the company also reported a substantial increase in its expenses as the group aims to develop “online exhibitions.”

CES Asia terminated, CES 2021 goes online

Shanghai, 28th July: The U.S.-based Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has decided to cancel CES Asia 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This also marks the end of the event - as it will not be revived after the pandemic is over.

In addition, the CTA cancelled the physical version of CES 2021, which was scheduled to be held Las Vegas in January. Instead, CTA will organise an all-digital version of CES 2021.

Quick takes

UFI elects Hong Kong’s Monica Lee-Müller as president

Monica Lee-Müller, managing director of the HKCEC venue in Hong Kong, has been elected as president of UFI, the global association of the exhibition industry, for the 2021/22 term.

Reed Australia discontinues fitness expos

Following the discontinuation of CES Asia (see above article), Reed Exhibitions Australia has decided to cancel its fitness exhibitions. This is just the beginning of a long, difficult process for the industry. As the pandemic rolls on, exhibition organisers around the world will review their portfolios and cut shows unlikely to recover or expected to recover too slowly.

South China Morning Post reverts to paywall

A good summary of the SCMP’s decision to revert to a subscription model four years after Alibaba’s acquisition of the Hong Kong-based newspaper.

Indian court issues summons to Jack Ma and Alibaba

First came the U.S.-China TikTok political dust-up. Now it seems Alibaba is getting dragged into India-China trade politics. The international political landscape is getting increasingly difficult and complex for tech players.

Casinos still facing dark days ahead

Similar to the business events industry, the gaming industry is facing difficult months ahead. MGM announces that furloughed staff who have not been recalled by 31st August will be laid off permanently. And Las Vegas Sands offers free rent to retail tenants in Macau and Singapore. LVS cannot have malls with no shops when punters eventually return.

Share price movement in B2B media companies involved in Asia

Figure 1: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement over past 12 months)

Figure 2: BSG B2B Media Index vs. All Tracked B2B Stocks (price movement since January 2020)

Quick takes

LVS revenues plummet in Q2

Las Vegas Sands Corporation saw its second quarter revenues fall 97% from US$3.33 billion in 2019 to a mere US$98 million in Q2 2019. Its net loss was US$985 million compared with Q2 2019 when its net profit was US$1.11 billion. It seems likely that in 2020, most global exhibition organisers will record a drop in revenues closer to that of LVS than the rather optimistic 75% drop that appeared in the results of UFI’s latest Global Exhibition Barometer survey.

Virtual events will fade with the COVID crisis

Eddie Choi thinks event organisers will abandon virtual events as soon as the pandemic is over.

Alibaba’s Ant Group to list in Shanghai and Hong Kong

Ant Group, which operates Alipay, is preparing for an IPO which will value the business at US$200 billion – roughly the same as Bank of America. Ant has an incredible 900 million active users in China. Alibaba owns one third of Ant.

Exhibitions happening in China

In happier news, Informa Markets had a good result at its China Beauty Expo in Shanghai, as did Reed Exhibitions with its gift trade show in Shenzhen – and auto exhibitions are pressing ahead across the country.

Messe Frankfurt successfully restarts in China

Shenzhen, 20th July: Messe Frankfurt, an international event organiser, has held its first large-scale exhibitions in China following months of postponed and cancelled events due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics and the Yarn Expo were co-located running from 15th to 17th July at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center. Intertextile Shenzhen Apparel Fabrics featured 886 exhibitors, while the Yarn Expo showcased 125 exhibitors.

New York Times will move digital team out of Hong Kong

New York, 14th July: Recently, The New York Times announced it would relocate its Hong Kong-based digital news operation to Seoul. The shift is as a result of the recently enacted National Security Law (NSL) in Hong Kong, which was in part Beijing’s reaction to the political and social unrest that has affected Hong Kong since June 2019.

According to The New York Times, the national security law passed by China in June has unsettled news organisations and created uncertainty about the city’s prospects as a hub for journalism in Asia. The New York Times will move its digital team to Seoul over the next year, reducing staff levels in Hong Kong by about one-third. The New York Times plans to keep its reporting staff and infrastructure in place in Hong Kong for the time being.

RELX and DMGT release COVID-hit results

London, 23rd July: Yesterday, RELX plc and DMGT plc released their latest financial results. For RELX it covers the previous six months and for DMGT the previous nine months ended 30th June 2020.

RELX recorded group revenues of £3.5 billion (US$4.3 billion) in the first half of 2020, a year-on-year decrease of 10%. Its adjusted operating profit dropped 24% down to £939 million (US$1.2 billion).

DMGT’s group revenues were £934 million (US$1.1 billion) for the nine months ended 30th June. That represents an underlying decrease of 7%. The group adjusted operating profit was £63 million (US$77 million) in the nine-month period, compared with a profit of £112 million (US$138 million) last year.

UFI updates COVID-19 damage assessment

Paris, 20th July: Earlier this week, UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, released an updated COVID-19 damage assessment for the global exhibitions and trade show industry, covering the full year of 2020.

According to its recently released UFI Global Exhibition Barometer, industry revenues in the first half of 2020 dropped by two thirds compared to the same period last year. UFI also provided an expectation of revenues for the full year of 2020. According to survey organisers, they expect to generate revenues far below 2019 levels. Organisers in Europe and North America expect revenues to be 44% of 2019, while the figure in Asia was 39% and Central and South America were both lower at 33%. The Middle East & Africa was 31%. BSG notes that even these forecasts now seem optimistic given that for an increasing number of geographic markets, the rest of 2020 could be a complete write-off.

Quick takes

UFI releases Global Exhibition Barometer research

The report provides insight into 25 exhibition markets globally. Surveyed organisers expected 2020 revenues to drop by 60% compared with 2019. That seems optimistic.

Macau and Guangdong province ease travel restrictions

There are still plenty of restrictions and hurdles to travel, but at least it is a step in the right direction.

Rethinking exhibitions

UFI’s Kai Hattendorf was part of a very good panel session on the future of exhibitions. It is worth watching (or reading).