Tough times for Alibaba

Quite a bit has happened to Alibaba in the last few months. First, Chinese regulators halted the Ant Financial IPO at the last minute. U.S. regulators proposed and then withdrew an investment ban on Chinese companies including Alibaba, Tencent and others. Meanwhile, Jack Ma is under investigation, has been advised not to leave China. He has not been seen in public since October. And finally, the Trump administration launched a ban on transactions on Alipay within the U.S.

Informa looks to 2nd half of 2021

Informa has announced that it is scheduling 90% of its physical events (outside Mainland China) to run beginning from June 2021. On the positive side of things,

Informa’s management noted that rebooking for 2021 events in Mainland China has “been encouraging, underlining the pent-up demand for physical tradeshows as markets re-open.” Informa generates approximately two-thirds of its revenues and profits from events, but during the pandemic, its subscription business helpfully provided £300 million in profits. Finally, the group announced that former Rolls-Royce CEO, John Rishton, has been confirmed as Informa Chair Elect.

Head of Reed Exhibitions Russia to lead U.K. business

Overall RELX, the parent company of Reed Exhibitions, is well-positioned to weather the pandemic with just 16% of its revenues coming from events. Despite that fact, there have significant layoffs throughout Reed Exhibitions in recent months. As a result of those departures, the group announced this week that the CEO of its Russia, Turkey &  Middle East business will also be responsible for managing its U.K. business.