Shanghai, 23rd May: UBM Sinoexpo concluded its 2019 Shanghai Hospitality Design and Supplies Expo (HDE) in late April. According to the organiser, the event attracted 147,166 trade professionals from 131 countries and regions, representing an increase of 8.5% over last year’s edition.

Penang, 30th May: The Penang Convention & Exhibition Bureau (PCEB) has launched a new subvention programme, Privilege Penang, aimed at supporting meetings, conferences and incentives in Penang.

Bangkok, 13th May: The organisers of Intelligent Warehouse – Logistics Technology, Warehousing and Management Systems and LogiMAT have agreed to cooperate. Intelligent Warehouse, a local logistics exhibition held in Thailand is organised by Expolink Global Network and LogiMAT, an intra-logistics trade show, is organised by EUROEXPO Messe- und Kongress-GmbH.

Macau, 27th May: Earlier this week, the Macau’s Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) released its MICE statistics for the first quarter of 2019. A total of 377 MICE events were held in Macau in the quarter. That is an increase of 49 events compared with the same quarter last year. The total number of participants increased 20% year-on-year, reaching 333,000 in the quarter.

Shanghai, 24th May: SIAL China, one of the largest food trade shows in Asia, concluded its 20th edition at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC) last week. This year’s event covered a total of 199,500 m2 – up 23% compared with the previous edition.

Shanghai, 24th May: International exhibition organiser, Deutsche Messe, and Donghao Lansheng Group have agreed to expand their strategic partnership by launching two new industrial fairs. The events, the South China International Industry Fair (SCIIF) in Shenzhen and Chengdu International Industry Fair (CdIIF) will be held in June and April, respectively.

London, 24th May: Today, Charterhouse, a private equity firm, has bid US$710 million to acquire Tarsus Group. The group’s independent directors are in favour of accepting the offer. The offer is approximately 17 times average EBITDA for Tarsus's financial years ended 31st December 2017 and 31st December 2018.

Thailand, 20th May: Earlier this week, the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) announced that it hosted more than eight million MICE travellers in the first quarter of 2019. They generated revenues of over Baht 54 billion (US$1.7 billion) in the first quarter – that represents an increase of 6.3% year-on-year.

Malaysia, 21st May: The Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB) has announced that two international conferences will be held in Malaysia in 2020. They are: the 46th ITA-AITES World Tunnel Congress (WTC) and the International Congress of Infection Diseases (ICID).

Hong Kong, 16th May: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded the 10th edition of its Hong Kong International Medical and Healthcare Fair (Medical Fair) at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). More than 12,000 buyers from 61 countries and regions attended the fair, representing an increase of 8% over the previous edition.

Beijing, 16th May: Last week, Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2019. Total revenues in the quarter were US$3.6 billion, which represents a 15% increase year-on-year. Excluding the impact of announced divestures, the increase was 21%. However, the company posted a net loss of US$49 million, compared to a net profit of US$1.1 billion last year.

Shanghai, 17th May: The third edition of ITB China, organised by the MB Exhibitions (Shanghai) Company, a Messe Berlin company, concluded with approximately 17,000 attendees – or 2,000 more than the figure recorded last year.

Mumbai, 16th May: UBM India, part of Informa Markets, opened the 7th edition of its Concrete Show India (CSI) on 16th May at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Share price movement

Bangkok, 9th May: Last week, Bangkok-based business information provider, Business Online (BOL), announced its financial results for the first quarter of 2019. Revenues in the period were US$3.9 million, an increase of 20% year-on-year.

London, 14th May: Recently, ITE Group plc, an international event organiser, released its interim results for the six months ended 31st March 2019. Revenues in the period were £107.8 million (US$141 million), representing growth of 6% on a like-for-like basis.

Hangzhou, 15th May: Earlier this week, China’s largest e-commerce company, the Alibaba Group, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2019 as well as its results for the financial year ended 31st March 2019. The company recorded revenues of US$14 billion in the quarter, which was an increase of 51% year-on-year. Net income in the period jumped more than 240%, reaching 3.8 billion.

Kuala Lumpur, 14th May: The Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) 2019 reportedly attracted 20,478 visitors including 6,112 international buyers from 130 countries and regions, representing an increase of 4% over last year.

Amsterdam, 13th May: According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), there were a global total of 12,937 rotating international association meetings in 2018. That is an increase of 379 more meetings than the figure recorded in 2017. This is also a new global record, according to ICCA.

Paris, 15th May: The board of directors at UFI, The Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, has voted to elect Anbu Varathan as its president for the term 2020/21. Varathan is the Director General & CEO of the Indian Machine Tool Manufacturers’ Association – IMTMA. He will be the first UFI President from India.