Fira de Barcelona to manage venues in China

China, 28th July: Fira de Barcelona announced plans to manage two exhibition centres in China: Xuzhou Greenland Huaihai International Expo Center in Xuzhou and Nanchang Greenland International Expo Center in Nanchang.

Located in the southeast of China, the Nanchang Greenland International Expo Center offers exhibition space of 170,000 m2. The venue has already confirmed plans to host 25 trade fairs this year. While Xuzhou Greenland Huaihai, located in eastern-central China has exhibition space of 66,000 m2 and there are plans to expand to the venue to 136,000 m2 in phases. The venue has 15 trade shows in its calenda this year.

RELX’s exhibition revenues jump 226% post-pandemic

London, 28th July: RELX Group plc, parent company of RX Global (formerly Reed Exhibitions), recently released its latest financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2022. Group revenues were £3.97 billion (US$4.8 billion) in the first half of the year, representing growth of 13%. Its adjusted operating profit increased by 16%, reaching £1.24 billion (US$1.5 billion).

RELX’s exhibition business generated revenues of £394 million (US$478 million), representing a jump of 226%. Its adjusted operating profit was £59 million (US$72 million) compared with a loss of £48 million (US$66 million) in the previous year.

jwc awarded Shenzhen World phase two contract

Shenzhen, 2nd August: jwc GmbH, an exhibition management consultancy founded by former UFI president, Jochen Witt, has announced that the company will develop the “master plan” for the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center’s phase two. jwc will work alongside Shenzhen World’s Chinese partners.

The new contract will features services such as strategy development, positioning, key management functions, operations and the layout of the extension. In 2016, jwc was also awarded a contract to manage some of Shenzhen World’s pre-opening activities – including a feasibility study, master plan development and other pre-opening support services.

Quick takes

People are flying again, airports struggle to respond

Around the globe, business travellers and tourists are returning to the air. In the first five months of 2022, 250 million international arrivals were recorded – up from 77 million in same period in 2021. There are challenges though as airlines and airports struggle to keep up with the surging demand.

Thailand’s decision to open early is paying off

Along with Singapore, Thailand was one of the first Asian countries to ease its COVID restrictions and reopen its borders to international visitors. Now that decision is paying dividends as the global travel industry took note. In December, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) will hold a joint meeting at the newly renovated Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

Malaysian Minister praises local events industry

The recovery of Malaysia’s MICE industry is now well underway as 18 international business events are scheduled this month. Nancy Shukri, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture stated “these business events are expected to bring together close to 24,000 delegates which is estimated to generate more than US$12.5 million in economic impact to the Malaysian economy.”

Hong Kong retail sector hit by “fifth wave”

The Hong Kong government and local media must be one of the only places on earth still talking about “COVID waves.” Lawmaker Peter Shiu said that the “closed borders and the aftermath of the fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong has greatly impacted consumers’ eagerness to spend.” (But it is fair to assume that it is mostly due to the closed borders.)

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 2022)

UFI Survey: Exhibition industry to rebound

Paris, 26th July: Earlier this week, UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, released its latest research in its bi-annual Global Exhibition Barometer, charting the quickening pace of the exhibition industry’s recovery in 2022.

After experiencing the continued impact of COVID-19 throughout 2021, the exhibition industry is bouncing back, with revenues for the first half of 2023 expected to reach 87% of 2019 levels. About 60% of respondents reported “normal activity”, up from just 30% in the previous Barometer. About 70% of respondents expect to be operating at normal levels by the end of 2022; however, 5% expect to have “no activity” from September 2022.

Alibaba to list in Hong Kong (again)

Hong Kong, 26th July: Earlier this week, the leading e-commerce company in China, Alibaba Group, announced it will apply for a primary listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The company currently maintains a secondary listing on the Main Board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The primary listing process is expected to be completed at the end of 2022, making Alibaba a dual-primary listed company on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

Informa Markets expands footprint in beauty market

London, 19th July: Last week, London-listed Informa PLC released its “Growth, Expansion and Balance Sheet Strength”, reflecting its impressive performance – especially in the international B2B Beauty & Personal Care market.

Through a combination of organic expansion, targeted additions and a series of partnership agreements in the past years, Informa now owns or partners on leading B2B Beauty brands in four Asian countries.

HKTDC jewellery shows open this week

Hong Kong, 14th July: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will open its 38th Hong Kong International Jewellery Show and 8th Hong Kong International Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show from 29th July to 2nd August at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), showcasing fine jewellery and jewellery-making materials.

The twin jewellery shows will feature more than 430 exhibitors from local jewellery companies, as well as exhibitors from Mainland China, Germany, Italy, Japan and Singapore. This year’s Jewellery Show will include five highlighted zones: World of Glamour; Fine Jewellery; Antique & Vintage Jewellery; Silver and Finished Jewellery; and Tools & Equipment and Packaging. The Diamond, Gem & Pearl Show focuses on quality jewellery materials and loose stones.

Quick takes

International buyers not coming to Hong Kong

A survey by a Hong Kong-based events company found that two-thirds of its international customers were not willing to travel to the city due to its strict Covid regulations, and many buyers were “losing patience” with Hong Kong’s mandatory 7-day hotel quarantine.

10,000 delegates heading to single event in Bangkok

With the lifting of travel restrictions across Thailand, Bangkok is preparing to welcome more than 10,000 delegates from 50+ countries for the 2022 Unicity Global Leadership & Innovation Conference next week. TCEB (Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau) officials say the event is expected to generate Thai Baht 660 million (US$17.9 million) for the Thai economy.

Private equity group offers US$2b for Euromoney

A group led by French investment firm Astorg Asset Management has offered to buy Euromoney in a deal valued at around £1.66 billion (US$1.97 billion). The offer, which the board of the company has recommended, represents a premium of about 10% to the British B2B information company’s share price at the time of the offer.

RELX: strong results in 1H 2022

RELX, the parent company of RX Global (formerly Reed Exhibitions), reports a 13% growth in revenues and 16% growth in operating profit for the first half of 2022. During the period, the company completed six acquisitions for a total consideration of £342 million.

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 2022)

Quick takes

China postpones Asian Games to September 2023

In another bad sign for physical events in China, Beijing has announced that the country will host the 2022 Asian Games in 2023 because of the COVID pandemic. The Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) stated that the Asian Games will be held in Hangzhou from 23rd September to 8th October next year.

IEG plans to grow revenues 5X by 2027

CEO of IEG (and former UFI president), Corrado Peraboni, plans to grow revenues at the Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) from €13 million in 2022 to €69 million in 2027 and Asian markets will play a role in that plan.

Singapore expects up to six million visitors in 2022

On the back of the reopening of the Lion City in April this year, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) has forecasted international visitor arrivals of between four and six million depend on how the second half of 2022 unfolds. STB maintains that tourism will recover to pre-Covid levels by 2025.

Hyve sells Ukrainian business to management

Hyve announced the sale of Premier Expo, its Ukrainian subsidiary, to its managing director, Anatoly Sushon. Hyve will receive up to £3 million via an earnout deal paid annually until September 2027.

HKTDC holds physical and online events

Hong Kong, 18th July: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded one of its physical and online events last week. The International Sourcing Show, with Exhibition+ (EPLUS) model featured more than 20,000 industry buyers attended the physical event and browsed products online.

More than 1,730 exhibitors from 12 countries and regions exhibited more than 83,000 products during the fair. Over 5,000 meetings were facilitated in order to connect exhibitors with global buyers – both online and offline.

Patrick Martell to become Informa Markets CEO in 2023

London, 19th July: Informa Markets, the world’s largest commercial exhibition organiser, has announced the appointment of a new CEO beginning next year. Effective 1st January 2023, current CEO of Informa Intelligence and COO of Informa Group, Patrick Martell, will assume the role of Informa Markets’ CEO with Informa Group COO.

The company’s current CEO Charlie McCurdy will become a strategic advisor to Informa Group in 2023. McCurdy has been the group’s CEO since 2015. He has been involved in events and B2B media for more than 35 years.

Global Sources revamps its online platform

Hong Kong, 4th July: Hong Kong-based Global Sources has announced the revamp of its “Global Sources Online Sourcing Platform” (GSOL). The improved platform will offer new features to connect buyers and verified suppliers globally. The global pandemic strongly affected the B2B sourcing market, now according to Global Sources, by 2025 approximately 80% of B2B sales interactions will be conducted through digital platforms.

Separately, Global Sources also announced the return of its series of exhibitions running from 11th to 14th October 2022 at AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) in Hong Kong. The upcoming show series will feature 4,000 suppliers exhibiting some 50,000 products. Global Sources will also launch value-added services during this show. It is expected to attract more than 20,000 professional visitors onsite and another 100,000 online.

Informa updates corporate strategy

London 19th July: The London-based media group, Informa PLC, has released an update of its Growth Acceleration Plan (GAP). In the first half of 2022, the group posted underlying revenue growth of over 40%, due to continuing strength in Academic Markets, strong return in Live & On-Demand Events and progressive growth in B2B Digital Services.

Informa posted strong performances in its key business units, including Informa Markets, Informa Connect and Informa Tech – delivering over 90% underlying revenue growth. Total revenues were more than £650 million (US$796 million).

Separately, Informa has announced a deal to acquire Industry Dive, a multi-market B2B audience development and high-quality digital content specialist firm. In addition, Informa agreed to sell its Emerging Portfolio Funds Research (EPFR) to Montagu, a private equity firm.

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 2022)

Quick takes

In terms of the pandemic, (with the notable exception of China), things are generally looking optimistic now, but a widely anticipated global economic slowdown or even recession, is looming over most economies.

Bizzabo cuts one third of its staff

Event tech appears to be a quite uncomfortable place to be right now. Bizzabo has raised nearly US$200 million to date, but that apparently was not enough. This follows Hopin’s announcement in February that 12% of its staff would be cut.

Temasek expects things to get ugly

The giant Singaporean sovereign wealth fund expects its investment activity to slow as the global economic outlook worsens. Temasek is one of the top 10 investors worldwide with 63% of its investments in Asia. Temasek also owns Constellar, a Singapore-based event organiser and venue owner.

Las Vegas Sands lends US$1b to Macau

Sands China, a subsidiary of Las Vegas Sands (LVS), has announced that it has entered into a loan agreement with its parent company following the recent COVID lockdown in Macau. The US$1 billion loan will be repayable on 11th July 2028.

Japan gets nervous about COVID… again

Japan warned that a new wave of coronavirus infections appeared to be spreading rapidly and urged people to take special care. Tokyo reported 16,878 new cases on Wednesday – the highest daily total since February.

Alibaba gets fined and Tsai quits a board

Alibaba is in trouble with regulators once again. The e-commerce giant has been fined for five violations of China’s anti-monopoly law running back to 2011. At the same time, and perhaps not unrelated, the Alibaba Group’s vice-chairman, Joe Tsai, has quit the board of its sports subsidiary Alibaba Sports.

Penang to host IAA World Congress in 2024

 Penang, 11th July: The 45th edition of the International Advertising Association (IAA) World Congress will be held in Penang in 2024. This marks the first time this congress will be held in Southeast Asia. Organisers are expecting some 2,000 delegates, generating an estimated economic impact of US$3 million to the Malaysian state.

The three-day congress will be held from 6th to 8th March 2024. The theme will be “Brand ReCode: Createch for Better Lives, Better World.” It will have the goal of helping people and businesses to merge creativity and technology in trade and industry. The congress will feature panel discussions, tech expos, board meetings and team building sessions, award shows and masterclasses.

HKTDC opens key public events this summer

Hong Kong, 6th July: Despite Hong Kong’s ongoing COVID restrictions, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will run its 32nd Hong Kong Book Fair from 20th to 26th July 2022 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

The Book Fair will be co-located with the Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo and World of Snacks which are expected to attract over 700 exhibitors.

During the Book Fair, the HKTDC will also host its 31st Education & Career Expo from 21st to 24th July. That event will provide visitors with information on education and job opportunities available in Hong Kong and overseas.