Singapore prioritises business events for recovery

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Singapore, 19th April: The Singaporean government has announced a S$500 million (US$368 million) subsidy to support the recovery of Singapore’s travel industry – placing emphasis on new unique attractions, and events with a sustainability and business tourism focus.

Although the government expects a full recovery of international travel will take several years, this subsidy is expected to speed the recovery of Singapore’s tourism and events sector in the short-term. This news follows the opening of Singapore’s borders on 1st April to fully vaccinated travellers, without requiring COVID-19 testing or quarantine on arrival.

TCEB holds first FAM trip in two years

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Thailand, 11th April: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) held its first international FAM trip in two years. The 2022 Thailand MICE Familiarization Trip was organised for international delegates. It attracted 43 entrepreneurs from various part of the MICE industry. Delegates arrived from 15 countries and regions.

The FAM trip was made possible due to the Thai government’s easing of COVID restrictions and reopening the country to international visitors. TCEB focused on introducing the delegates to key MICE venues and attractions in Bangkok and Phuket.

DLG’s revenues dropped 69% in FY2021

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Shanghai, 9th April: Last week, Shanghai-listed DLG Exhibitions (formerly Shanghai Lansheng) released its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2021. Revenues in the year were US$145 million. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 69%. Net profits fell 13% year-on-year, down to US$19 million. Diluted earnings per share in 2021 were RMB 0.224 (US$0.035).

In 2021, DLG held 12 physical exhibitions resulting in gross space sold of nearly 600,000 m2. The events attracted some 500,000 visitors. In the second half of 2021, exhibitions were postponed or cancelled due to COVID restrictions. In the beginning of 2022, COVID infections in China began to rapidly increase which severely impacted DLG’s exhibition business. Management expects the pandemic to have a large adverse impact on the company’s financial results in 2022.

CCID posts surprising rise in profits in FY2021

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Beijing, 8th April: Hong Kong-listed CCID Consulting, a research and information service provider in China, has announced its financial results for the year 2021. Revenues in the year were US$37 million, up 11% year-on-year.

The company’s net profit jumped 57% compared with 2020, reaching US$6.5 million in the recent financial year. Diluted earnings per share in the year were RMB 0.0577 (US$0.0091).

MEX Exhibitions to launch new Indian events

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New Delhi, 30th March: MEX Exhibitions has announced plans to launch new events in India. Leather Asia Expo and Shoe Technology 2022 will be held later this year in collaboration with India Exposition Mart.

The new shows will run from 10th to 12th November 2022 at India Expo Centre and Mart, Greater Noida, Delhi – NCR. The exhibitions will aim to serve the entire leather and footwear technology value chain industry. Mex Exhibitions is targeting exhibitors in the following segments: raw leather, leather products, footwear, and technology firms focused on the footwear industry.

Quick takes

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SNIEC venue converted into hospital

Things are going from bad to worse in China – especially in Shanghai. Both SNIEC and the Shanghai World Expo Centre have been designated as quarantine sites for asymptomatic patients. City authorities have plans to transform more venues and stadiums into temporary hospitals. 2022 is increasingly looking like a complete write-off for the exhibition industry in China.

Hyve confirms plans to sell Russian events

In a company trading update, Hyve confirmed that it has entered into a conditional agreement to sell its entire Russian portfolio to Rise Expo Limited for US$94 million payable over a ten-year earn-out period. Hyve’s management noted that the Group expects to report a loss the deal.

More Asian governments ease COVID restrictions

More good news from Asia. In Jakarta, vaccinated international travellers no longer need to complete a PCR test on arrival and visa-free entry has been expanded to all travellers from ASEAN countries to Indonesia. In Thailand, the government plans to drop PCR tests for foreign visitors beginning in May.

Quick takes

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Arc acquires Incisive

It seems that the much-anticipated post-pandemic M&A boom may have begun. UK-based Arc, which is led by Simon Foster, announced that it has acquired Incisive Media. The deal includes titles such as Investment Week, Professional Pensions, Professional Adviser, Cover, International Investment, Financial Services Forum and BusinessGreen.

 

UFI Asia Week wraps up

Last week, UFI held its inaugural UFI Asia-Pacific Week in place of the regular annual UFI Asia-Pacific Conference. This initiative allowed members, as well as the wider community, to gather face-to-face despite travel and gathering restrictions. Member-led activities were held in ten markets across the region – including Tokyo, Sydney, Singapore, Bangkok and Seoul.

COEX appoints new CEO, head of AKEI

In Seoul, the COEX venues announced the appointment of Dong-ki Lee as its new President and CEO. Lee was previously head of Korea International Trade Association’s Innovation Growth Division. He will also take leadership of the Association of Korean Exhibition Industry (AKEI).

 

US leads urge Biden to drop all COVID restrictions

The US is essentially open for business now, but the CEOs of US airlines as well as airline lobbying groups are urging the Biden administration to drop remaining COVID travel restrictions including testing and masking.

Sino Splendid limps out of the COVID era

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Hong Kong, 31st March: Hong Kong-listed Sino Splendid (formerly China.com) announced its results for the financial year ended 31 December 2021. The company reported revenues of US$8.1m in 2021 compared with US$5.2m in 2020 – far below the US$14 million recorded in 2019.

The company’s loss narrowed slightly to US$2.8m in 2021 compared with US$3.0m in 2020. In 2019, the company recorded a loss of just US$342,000.

China sticks to zero-COVID policy

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Shanghai, 5th April: As the rest of Asia moves towards normalcy, China is sticking to its zero-COVID policy. There are signs of frustration as Shanghai’s more than 25 million residents endure an ongoing lockdown reminiscent of the Spring of 2020 – not Spring 2022. There is no clear end in sight.

In 2022, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Jilin have endured COVID restrictions, but the approach of Shanghai is China's “biggest containment effort since it shuttered Wuhan at the start of the pandemic two years ago.” The commercial hub is looking at potentially weeks more of the same.

Singapore fully reopens for business

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Singapore, 1st April: Another sign that Asia is truly getting past the pandemic – as of 1st April, Singapore opened its borders to fully vaccinated travellers, removing Vaccinated Travel Lanes.

Singapore will allow any fully vaccinated travellers and non-fully vaccinated children aged 12 and under to enter without using a Vaccinated Travel Lane(VTL), being tested or undergoing quarantine. Previously, Singapore had been using VTLs since August 2021. However, travellers will continue to be required to take a pre-departure PCR or antigen tests within two days of departure for Singapore.

Seoul adds another US$2.2m to support MICE

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Seoul, 28th March: Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB), with backing from the Seoul Metropolitan Government, has allocated US$2.2 million in the budget to support the city’s business events sector.

Support areas will include: helping to provide a safe and secure environment for events, quarantine services, quarantine gates, and specialised sterilisation equipment at certain business events.

Tencent launches virtual event management solution

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China, 21st March: Tencent Cloud, the cloud business of Tencent, launched a virtual/hybrid event management solution platform, Tencent Cloud Conference (TCC), to digitalise traditional offline events.

TCC provides a virtual platform to support physical exhibitions, booths, roadshows, conferences and forums, adapting them for online event portals, promotions and registrations.

New MICE complex to be built in Seoul

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Seoul, 28th March: Jamsil Sport MICE Complex, a new destination for sports, culture and events, will be built in Seoul, South Korea. It aims to become a world-leading destination and to strengthen the country’s position in the sports, conferences and events markets.

The new complex will include convention and exhibition facilities with over 100,000 m2 of exhibition halls, pre-function spaces, meeting rooms, a concert hall, commercial offering and ballrooms – totalling 278,000 m2 of MICE facilities. Other facilities include a sports complex, open-air baseball park, 5-star hotel, 4-star business hotel in a commercial office tower, cultural and commercial retail, indoor underground swimming pool, as well as a serviced residence and hotel tower.

HC Group’s revenues up 20% in FY2021

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Hong Kong, 25th March: Last week, the HC Group, an online B2B information services provider in China, reported total revenues of US$2.7 billion for the year ended 31st December 2021. This represents an increase of 20% year-on-year. The company reduced its net loss from US$134 million in 2020 to US$101 million in 2021.

More than 93% of HC’s revenues were generated from its smart industries segment, amounting to US$2.5 billion (representing a year-on-year increase of 22%). The remaining revenues were generated from its “technology-driven new retail segment” (US$168 million) and HC’s platform & corporate services segment (US$17 million). The technology-driven new retail segment increased by 4.9%, while the platform & corporate services segment recorded a decrease of 43%.

SEEC Media revenues drop 15% in FY2021

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Hong Kong, 29th March: Earlier this week, SEEC Media, a Chinese B2B media group, released its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2021. Total revenues in the year were US$8.8 million, decreasing 15% year-on-year. However, the company narrowed its net loss to US$5.7 million in 2021, compared with a loss of US$18 million in the previous year.

More than half of SEEC’s revenues were generated from its advertising services & sales of books & magazines segment, amounting to US$4.7 million. This represents a decrease of 13% from the previous year’s figure. The next largest business segment was the money lending business, which generated revenues of US$1.8 million (a decline of 9.4% year-on-year), accounting for about 21% of SEEC’s total revenues.

Quick takes

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Shanghai locks down for testing as COVID cases spike

China’s financial hub, Shanghai, will lock down in two stages over nine days to carry out COVID-19 testing after the city reported a new daily record in asymptomatic infections. All firms and factories will suspend manufacturing and/or work remotely during the lockdown.

 

European companies plan to leave Hong Kong over COVID restrictions

According to a new EuroCham survey on the impact of government pandemic controls, nearly half of European companies in Hong Kong are looking to move out of the city this year, citing “unusually high staff turnover” and difficulties in hiring overseas talent. Only 17% of respondents have no intention of shifting operations elsewhere.

 

Singapore’s living-with-COVID strategy set to reap expo dividends

The Lion City is gearing up to hold larger business events this year as it expands vaccinated travel lanes and eases COVID-related restrictions. Relaxed rules allow attendance at larger events up to 50% of the venue’s capacity, while quarantine requirements have been lifted for all vaccinated and COVID-free travellers. Organisers are welcoming the moves, saying they will help revive Singapore’s MICE industry.

 

Australia to ditch pre-trip tests for arriving travellers

From 17th April onwards, overseas travellers bound for Australia will no longer need to provide a negative COVID-19 test prior to departure. International arrivals will still need to be fully vaccinated to enter the country, and mandatory masking on flights will remain. Restrictions on cruise ships will also lapse on 17th April.