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.