Quick takes

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Singapore opens a bit more

The Lion City is pushing ahead with its “living with COVID” strategy. Starting on 29th November there will be a “vaccinated travel lane” (VTL) for Indians visiting Singapore. The only requirement is a negative test taken within two days prior to the flight and a negative on-arrival PCR test.

Heavy impact of COVID on business travel

The Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) offers some numbers and insight into the devastating impact of COVID on business travel in Asia. The region’s “lagging border re-openings” will not help matters in 2022.

Hyve opens its wallet for specialist organiser

It is good to see some M&A activity in the events market. The Hyve Group has agreed to acquire the 121 Group for between US$55 million and US$67 million. 121 Group is a specialty event organiser focused on the mining sector in Asia as well as other regions and founding partner, Toby Duckworth, is based in Hong Kong.

Manila ponders reopening borders

The Philippine government apparently has approved a plan to allow in fully vaccinated visitors from low-risk countries according to the Department of Tourism (DOT). There is not much detail on this plan, but we live in hope.

Quick takes

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Hong Kong Sevens delayed for 5th time

How bad are things for event organisers in Hong Kong? The Hong Kong Rugby Union announced this week that the iconic Hong Kong Sevens tournament will be delayed for a fifth time until November 2022.

 

Another own-goal for Hong Kong

More disappointing news out of Hong Kong – although not media or event related. Air cargo shipping is one of the few industries that has been booming during the pandemic. Given that, it is especially bad news that Hong Kong’s over-the-top COVID restrictions have managed to force FedEx to leave the city behind as a key Asian hub.

 

Eddie Choi talks content and virtual events

On a more positive note, the always interesting Eddie Choi finds some silver linings in the pandemic and discusses lessons learned.

 

Alibaba leads consortium bid for chipmaker

It is potentially a good investment. It is also potentially a way for Jack Ma to get out of Beijing’s bad books. Whatever the reason, Alibaba’s consortium is the lead bidder for an US$8 billion deal to bailout Tsinghua Unigroup.

 

Partial lockdown in the Netherlands, events still going

Rotterdam hosted UFI’s annual Global Congress earlier this month. Now the Dutch government as announced a partial lockdown in the face of surging infection numbers. On the plus side, RAI Amsterdam says the measures will have minimal impact on its events calendar.

BOL’s profit grows 24% in Q3

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Bangkok, 12th November: Business Online (BOL), a leading online information service provider in Thailand, reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2021. Revenues in the quarter were US$5.5 million, a year-on-year increase of 4.4%. In addition, the company’s net profit posted of US$2.3 million, representing a 24% increase compared with the same period last year.

The Bangkok-listed company attributed the increase in revenues to a boom its corporate data sales division. In addition, a drop in operating costs help BOL to boost its bottom line.

Baidu’s revenues up 13% in Q3, but posts huge loss

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Beijing, 17th November: Earlier this week, Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, released its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2021. Revenues in the quarter were US$4.95 billion, an increase of 13% year-on-year.

However, the company posted a huge net loss of US$2.57 billion in the quarter, compared with a net profit of just over US$2 billion in the same quarter of 2020. The loss included a US$2.93 billion non-cash, mark-to-market loss in a long-term investment.

Informa releases positive trading update

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London, 17th November: Informa PLC, which owns the world’s largest commercial exhibition organiser, Informa Markets, released a trading update this week. The company expects group revenues to be approximately £1.8 billion (US$2.4 billion) in 2021 and adjusted operating profit will be £375 million (US$503 million).

According to the group, more than 250 face-to-face and smart events were held and key participation metrics and rebooking rates have improved throughout the year. Informa Markets, its events business, together with other business sectors posted over 20% underlying revenue growth (from April to year-end). The full year growth rate is expected to be 7%. In terms of cash flow, the group expects more than £325 million (US$436 million) of free cash flow in 2021 – excluding any divestment proceeds.

Messe München to launch new event in Singapore

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Singapore, 16th November: In 2023, Messe München, an international exhibition organiser, will launch a new Southeast Asian edition of its oddly named, “transport logistic and air cargo” in Singapore in 2023.

Co-organised by MMI Asia, the regional subsidiary of Messe München, and the Singapore Tourism Board (STB), the first Southeast Asian edition of transport logistic and air cargo will be held from 13th to 15th September 2023 at the Marina Bay Sands venue.

Alibaba Singles’ Day grows, but more slowly

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China, 12th November: The Alibaba Group, the largest e-commerce group in China, announced that the company generated US$84.5 billion (RMB 540 billion) of gross merchandise volume (GMV) during its 13th annual 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. That figure represents an increase of 8.5% compared with the 2020 campaign.

This year, the festival ran from 1st to 11th November and the total GMV was calculated within the 11 days. The growth rate of 8.5% is considerably lower than the 26% recorded in 2020.

Quick takes

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Messe München appoints Reinhard Pfeiffer and Stefan Rummel as co-heads

The Board of Management at Messe München is being reshaped and shareholders have unanimously voted for Reinhard Pfeiffer and Stefan Rummel as the company’s next co-heads. Replacing Chairman Klaus Dittrich, the two executives will serve as equal Managing Directors starting from 1st July 2022.

 

Indonesia further relaxes international entry requirements

International travellers and visitors to Indonesia can expect eased entry restrictions with an improved quarantine experience. Fully vaccinated travellers with negative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results will only have to serve a shortened quarantine period of three days followed by a mandatory PCR test on the final day. Travellers with only one shot will have to undergo five days of isolation and take the mandatory PCR test on their fourth day.

 

Singapore eases border measures and greenlights more VTL schemes

Instead of the usual PCR tests, travellers to Singapore from the 23 countries previously deemed to be at the highest risk of COVID-19 infections, including Laos and India, may now present a negative antigen rapid test (ART) result taken two days prior to departure – followed by a 10 day stay-home notice (SHN) at home or a hotel of their choice. Vaccinated Travel Lanes (VTLs) have also been established for Malaysia, Finland and Sweden, allowing a conditional daily quota of 6,000 travellers from 29th November onwards.

VNU Asia Pacific held 2 online events

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Thailand, 4th November: VNU Asia Pacific held Thailand LAB INTERNATIONAL 2021 and FutureCHEM INTERNATIONAL 2021 from 27th to 29th October 2021 through a fully online platform, attracting a total of 7,737 participants from 34 countries.

In collaboration with Science and Technology Trade Association (STTA) and the Thailand Center of Excellence for Life Sciences (TCELS), the events were held online for the first time due to the pandemic. Of the 7,737 participants, 5,613 of them attended 33 conferences and seminars by 130 keynotes and experts from various agencies, and another 2,124 visited the virtual exhibition and booths.

Deutsche Messe restarts industrials shows in China

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Shanghai, 10th November: International exhibition organiser, Deutsche Messe and its subsidiary, Hannover Milano Fairs Shanghai Ltd. hosted the first major industrial fair since the COVID-19 pandemic-induced break last year. The three concurrent events featured some 3,000 companies, presenting their latest products and solutions from the fields of drive and fluid technology, intralogistics, and compressed air and vacuum technology.

The three events: PTC ASIA, CeMAT ASIA and ComVac ASIA, ran from 26th to 29th October 2021 at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), covering an exhibition area of 220,000 m2.

Sino Splendid’s revenues up 59% in Q3

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Hong Kong, 9th November: Earlier this week, Hong Kong-listed Sino Splendid (formerly China.com) announced its financial results for the nine months ended 30th September 2021. Revenues in the period were US$5.5 million, a 59% increase over the same period in 2020. However, the company posted a net loss of US$2.2 million in the nine-month period, compared with a loss of US$1.5 million in the first nine months of 2020.

The company attributed the increase in revenues to the financial magazine business, and the increase in loss to rising expenses. According to the company, the travel media business (TTG) was still seriously affected by the COVID-19 pandemic due to continuing international travel and immigration restrictions.

C-star transforms to China in-store

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Shanghai, November: Organised by Messe Düsseldorf (Shanghai) Co., Ltd., C-star, a member of the international EuroShop family, will transform to China in-store in 2022. Due to the current developments in the market, physical shops are no longer just a sales channel in China, but also ideal places to communicate brand values, increase customer loyalty and attract new target groups.

Although C-star covers five retail investment areas, after the transformation, China in-store will focus only on the two most important areas: in-store design and in-store solutions. The organiser is targeting exhibitors from design companies and suppliers of high-quality in-store solutions including shopfitting, visual merchandising, lighting, retail marketing and retail technology.

Made-in-China.com’s revenues rise 19% in Q3

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Nanjing, 30th October: Last week, Shenzhen-listed Focus Technology, which is the owner and operator of Made-in-China.com, reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2021. Revenues in the quarter were US$54 million, a year-on-year increase of 19%. However, net income dropped 28% down to US$10 million in the quarter.

The Nanjing-based company also released its results for the nine months ended 30th September. In that period, the company generated revenues of US$165 million, representing growth of 30% compared with the same period of last year. Focus Technology’s net income rose 40% in the nine-month period reaching US$30 million.

Netsun generates revenues of US$24m in Q3

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Hangzhou, 30th October: Zhejiang Netsun, a Chinese B2B online platform, recently announced its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2021 as well as the previous nine months. In the quarter, the company generated revenues of US$24 million, an increase of 74% compared with the same quarter in 2020. However, Netsun recorded a 15% decrease in net income during the same quarter, down to US$790,000.

For the nine months ended 30th September, Shenzhen-listed company reported revenues of US$68 million, an 85% increase compared to the same period in 2020. However, net income in the nine-month period fell 15% to US$2.6 million. Netsun’s earnings per share for the first nine months of 2021 were RMB 0.07 (US$0.011).

HKTDC’s 7 trade fairs attract 16,000+ onsite buyers

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Hong Kong, 27th October: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) opened its seven autumn trade fairs in a “physical + online” platform on 27th October. The physical fairs, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), concluded on 30th October, attracting more than 16,000 buyers.

The seven trade fairs are: Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition), International ICT Expo, Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair, Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition), Hong Kong International Outdoor & Tech Light Expo; the HKTDC and MMI Asia Pte Ltd co-organised electronicAsia, and the HKTDC and Messe Frankfurt (HK) Ltd joint-organised Eco Expo Asia.

Thailand reopens to (most of) the world

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Thailand, 1st November: As of 1st November 2021, international visitors who are fully vaccinated and can show a negative COVID test pre-departure are permitted to fly into Thailand without mandatory quarantine. The list includes 63 low-risk countries and regions.

A total of 17 Thai provinces and cities have currently been designated as pilot tourism destinations, including Bangkok and some towns in Chiang Mai, Phetchaburi, Chonburi (including Pattaya) and Prachuap Khiri Khan (including Hua Hin). The Thai government expect this move to generate US$45 billion in revenue.

Quick takes

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UFI’s Global Congress is back

For the first time since November 2019 when the event was held in Bangkok, UFI’s Global Congress is live in-person. Close to 300 delegates are now gathered in Rotterdam to look at what lies ahead for the industry in 2022 and beyond. Follow updates on UFI’s LinkedIn feed and by following #UFICongress. It will include exciting announcements such as plans to hold the 90th UFI Global Congress in Las Vegas on 1st to 4th November 2023.

 

Exhibitions stopped in Shenzhen

In sign that things are moving in the wrong direction in China, just days before the massive CPSE (China Public Security Expo) the authorities in Shenzhen revoked permission for the event. If the organiser of a public security expo cannot get the green light that does not bode well for events in China in the near-term.

 

Tencent makes another investment in Japan

Tencent Holdings has announced plans to acquire a roughly 7% stake in Kadokawa, a Japanese publishing company. The investment is valued at US$264 million and will make Tencent Kadokawa’s third-largest shareholder. This follows Tencent’s investment in March in Rakuten, a large Japanese e-commerce company.

 

EEAA to help events in Australia to recover

The Exhibition and Event Association of Australasia (EEAA) plans to launch a series of initiatives designed to help the exhibition industry in Australia to recover from the long COVID lockdowns that have occurred there over the past 18 months. EEAA will offer an assistance with education, skills development, branding, networking and effective governance to name a few.