India allows all exhibitions to go ahead under new COVID guidelines

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India, 28th January: The Government of India relaxed its restrictions under the new COVID-19 guidelines, allowing all kinds of exhibitions to be held anywhere in the country. Prior to this announcement, only B2B exhibitions were permitted.

The new guidelines take effect on 1st February. In addition to exhibitions, the government will also now allow swimming pools and cinemas to operate at 50% capacity.

Quick takes

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Informa holds two events in Japan in January

Tokyo Big Sight hosted two of Informa Markets’ B2B exhibitions in January. In addition, Tokyo issued new anti-COVID guidelines for business event organisers.

Alibaba earnings call sidesteps Jack and Ant issues

Group CEO Daniel Zhang was careful to avoid discussing the company’s regulatory issues, Jack Ma and the delayed Ant Group IPO.

Thailand hopes to attract just five million tourists in 2021

It is going to be another difficult year all across Asia. Thailand’s tourism chief will consider 2021 a success if the country attracts five million tourists. In 2019, nearly 40 million holidaymakers visited the Kingdom.

Visitors to Singapore down 85% in 2020, green lanes closed

Singapore recorded just 2.74 million visitors in 2020. That is down 86% compared to the previous year. Notably, the majority of those visitors arrived in January and February 2020. In addition, Singapore has suspended reciprocal green lane arrangements with Malaysia, South Korea and Germany for at least three months.

Pico’s revenues drop 31% in FY2020

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Hong Kong, 26th January: Hong Kong-listed Pico Far East Holdings reported its annual results for the year ended 31st October 2020. The company posted revenues of US$443 million, down 31% year-on-year. In addition, the company’s net profit dropped 79% during the year, down to US$7.2 million. Diluted earnings per share for the year were HK$0.0408 (US$0.0053).

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Quick takes

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Vaccine passports – A summary of the current situation

This is a decent summary of where we stand on so-called vaccine passports. It is a crucial issue because if vaccination does not lead to quarantine-free travel, a great many industries and economies will be in even more serious trouble.

Tarsus Group acquires a Mexican event

Not all M&A activity has come to a complete halt.  Tarsus Group has acquired a majority stake in Expo Tendero – a Mexican event launched in 2019. The event is focused on the tenderos niche – corner grocery shops common throughout Mexico.

ExpoPlatform hires Informa’s former digital VP

Hybrid and virtual events continue to attract attention and investment. Luke Bilton makes the move from Informa Markets, where he was VP for digital, to ExpoPlatform, a SaaS-based event platform used to create and manage online events.

Ant Financial valuation drops, Jack reappears

A short article on the expected valuation of Ant Financial. Bloomberg suggests that the valuation could fall from the original US$250 billion to US$108 billion when the IPO eventually goes ahead. In addition, two articles on Jack Ma’s reappearance and his on-going political predicament.

HKTDC’s licensing show and conference held online

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Hong Kong, 20th January: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) closed its 19th Hong Kong International Licensing Show (HKILS) last week. The online show featured over 250 exhibitors from around the globe, drawing more than 6,200 buyers from 47 countries and regions. During the show, about 1,200 online business matching meetings were arranged to connect global licensing players with new business opportunities.

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Quick takes

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Hong Kong’s arrivals down 94% in 2020

Obviously, this is not a surprise, but it is a stark reminder of how hard travel and tourism in Asia has been hit by COVID-19. With borders essentially closed in 2020, arrivals to Hong Kong fell from 55.9 million to 3.57 million – and most of those arrivals occurred in January 2020 before borders were closed.

 

LVS without Sheldon

A long look at the future of Las Vegas Sands. In short, it is all about Asia. LVS is considering selling its properties on the Vegas Strip, and Macau and Singapore are now the crown jewels as they account for 70% of the company’s annual revenues.

 

IAAPA moves annual event from Macau to Shanghai

This sums up the outlook for events in Asia in the first half of 2021. Macau, which has recorded one (yes, just one!) COVID-19 case since May 2020, will not be the host of IAAPA’s annual event in 2021. Instead of Macau in June, IAAPA opted for Shanghai in August, which suggests that IAAPA thinks that even their Mainland Chinese delegates would not be able to easily enter Macau by June.

 

(Legal) casinos in Thailand?

In Japan, the bidding process to license and develop integrated resorts (IRs) has completely gone off the rails. Now, the Thai government is signalling that it is open to the idea of developing IRs in an effort to undermine the endless number of illegal casinos that operate in the Kingdom.

 

Digital vaccination certificates may lead to travel

International Air Transport Association (IATA) is pushing the European Union to agree to a common digital COVID-19 vaccination certificate that would enable those who are vaccinated to travel freely within Europe. Emirates will the first airline to trial the IATA digital passport.