Weekly Newsletter
Beijing, 18th May: Earlier this week, Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2020. Total revenues in the quarter were US$3.2 billion, which is a decrease of 6.5% year-on-year. Net income in the quarter was US$5.8 million, compared with a net loss of US$49 million in the first quarter of 2019.
Read MoreAmsterdam, 12th May: According to the International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA), there were a global total of 13,254 rotating international association meetings in 2019, which is a new record. That figure is an increase of 317 meetings compared with 2018.
Read MoreShare price movement
Read MoreSheldon Adelson has announced that Las Vegas Sands has decided not to pursue a bid for the right to develop an integrated resort (IR) in Japan. The Japanese government has been accepting bids for IRs in areas including Yokohama, Osaka and Hokkaido. Reportedly, Caesars and Wynn Resorts have also dropped out. It is unclear if that reveals more about the financial health of the casino companies or something about how this bidding process is being managed.
Step-by-step, parts of Asia are moving in a positive direction. The Hong Kong government is currently in talks with authorities in Macau and Mainland China with a view towards lifting some of the travel restrictions between the three territories.
An interesting, well-researched and mostly hopeful take on the likely path to recovery of travel in China. McKinsey predicts that “travel will return in other countries much as it has in China. The young will go first. Travel will involve nearby destinations. Economy travel will recover more quickly. And outdoor and nature-related destinations will be more popular than congested cities.”
Perhaps in a sign that the e-commerce giant does not want to see its rival, Tencent, move into its turf of B2B sourcing, Alibaba has quickly unveiled an online exhibition offering. The details are thin, but it could be interesting if Alibaba throws resources and money at this initiative.
A good article from Bloomberg on an often overlooked corner of the Alibaba empire. Lazada is an Alibaba subsidiary that focuses on Southeast Asia. The e-commerce platform is helping Southeast Asian farmers to sell produce during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Nanjing, 25th April: Also last month, Focus Technology, operator of the B2B sourcing platform Made-in-China.com, reported revenues of US$32.3 million in the quarter ended 31st March 2020 – which is a modest decrease of 3.4% compared with the same quarter in 2019.
However, the company posted a loss of US$2.86 million, compared with a profit of US$9.2 million recorded last year. Focus Technology’s management attributed the loss to increasing costs affecting all aspects of its operations.
Hangzhou, 29th April: Last month, Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Netsun announced its results for the year ended 31st December 2019 and for the quarter ended 31st March 2020.
In the financial year 2019, the company generated revenues of US$50.2 million, representing a year-on-year decrease of 15%. The company attributed the decline to weak performance on its B2B trading platform.
Shanghai, 1st May: Earlier this month, Shanghai Lansheng released its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2020. The company reported a decrease of 25% in revenues, down to almost US$82.5 million. However, the company’s management did not comment on the reason for the decrease.
Within the same period, the company recorded a loss of US$7.1 million, compared with a profit of US$17.9 million last year.
China, 8th May: Last week, the State Council of China (SCC) released a set of important guidelines. Crucially, the document contained a statement allowing exhibitions to restart based on local conditions. Much of the decision-making will be left to local authorities in China at the city- and provincial-level. The document also offered guidance on the prevention of imported and domestic cases of COVID-19.
Published on the Chinese government’s official website, the SCC authorities noted that measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 can now be reduced to “normal level.” The SCC document cites a number of industries and activities that this directive covers including “public spaces, event spaces and events.”
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 2020)
In a highly significant development, the German government has noted a separation between mass gatherings (e.g. live music concerts) and exhibitions. The German state of North Rhine-Wesphalia (NRW) has announced that it will allow trade fairs and conferences to go ahead as of 30th May. NRW is a significant market for organisers such as Kölnmesse.
UFI continues its tireless effort to provide the ailing global exhibitions industry with the latest information on its Novel Coronavirus – Resources Page. This week UFI published it’s Global Framework for the Reopening Exhibitions which is now available for download.
UFI’s Novel Coronavirus – Resources Page
In a sign that Singapore’s events industry will not return to normal until at least the fourth quarter of 2020, Messe Düsseldorf has announced that the 13th edition of its Medical Fair Asia will be postponed from 9th to 11th September 2020 to 9th to 11th December 2020.
Earlier this year, Informa Markets’ massive Malaysian International Furniture Fair (MIFF) was postponed from its original dates in March to early July 2020. This week Informa Markets decided to wait until 8th to 11th March 2021 to hold the next edition of MIFF. This is not surprising given the large international participation at this event.
Korea, 29th April: The Seoul Convention Bureau (SCB) unveiled this week new training opportunities and financial support for the Seoul MICE Alliance (SMA) members. The SCB initiative aims to assist with the recovery of the Korean business events sector.
These initiatives are part of SCB’s “Stand Strong Together” campaign with the SMA. The campaign will continue until 22nd May. As part of this initiative, SMA members will have access to various event management courses.
Zhejiang, 29th April: Last week, Shanghai-based and Shenzhen-listed, exhibition organiser, Meorient, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2020.
Revenues in the quarter were US$1.7 million, down 46% compared with the same quarter last year. However, the company managed to narrow its loss to US$2.9 million, down from the US$3.1 million recorded in 2019.
London, 7th May: Earlier this week, Hyve Group (formerly ITE Group) released its financial results for the six months ended 31st March 2020. Revenues in the period were £96.3 million (US$119 million), an increase of 1% on a like-for-like basis.
Management reports that profits before tax were £19.8 million (US$24 million), down from £24.5 million (US$30 million) in the same period last year. The company attributed the decrease to event postponements and cancellations due to global COVID-19 pandemic.
Shanghai, 7th May: This week, the Alibaba Group and CCPIT Shanghai jointly launched a new company, Yunshang Exhibition Company (translated name), with the overall aim of developing an online exhibition platform. CCPIT, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, is a governmental body tasked with promoting international trade between Chinese businesses and the rest of the world. CCPIT is major exhibition organiser in China.
The partners hope that the new company can effectively develop an “online exhibition business.” Yunshang Exhibition Company (YEC) will help support the Chinese exhibition industry which has been severely affected by the global COVID-19 outbreak. Alibaba will contribute its expertise in cutting edge technologies including Artificial Intelligence (AI), 5G and big data analysis. While CCPIT will contribute its exhibition organising expertise to the partnership.
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 2020)
The exhibition industry in Japan has been hammered by bad news: the widening COVID-19 outbreak, the emergency lockdown, and the postponement of the 2020 Summer Olympics. Now the country’s largest venue, Tokyo Big Sight (TBS), announces its new closure dates in 2021 due to the postponed Olympic games.
Much talked about, but Pinduoduo has a long way to go before it is on the same level as Alibaba and JD.com.
The Financial Times take a stab at that pressing question.
As a result of the pandemic, more and more trade shows are announcing plans to go online. IT&CM China and CTW China announced virtual editions this year. And the postponements continue to pile up as venue capacity drastically tightens in the second half of the year.
Shanghai, 18th April: Shanghai Lansheng (formerly known as East Best) released its financial results for the year ended 31st December 2019. Revenue in the year was US$645 million. This represents solid year-on-year growth of 13%.
However, profit in 2019 dropped 24% year-on-year, down to US$25 million. Diluted earnings per share in 2019 were RMB 0.415 (US$0.059). The company attributed the decrease in profit to a notable rise in its costs and a decrease in its income from on-going investments.
Hong Kong, 17th April: Last week, the HC Group, an online B2B information services provider in China, reported total revenue of US$2.1 billion for the year ended 31st December 2019. That represents an increase of 40% year-on-year. The revenue growth was mainly from HC’s smart industries segment – its well-established B2B trading platform.
However, the company posted a loss of US$54 million in 2019, compared with a profit of US$39 million in the previous year. The loss was attributed to an increase in cost of sales and an impairment loss on goodwill and intangible assets.
Bangkok, 20th April: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) unveiled two projects this week: the “Virtual Meeting Space” (VMS) and “Simple Ways to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19 in Your Meetings and Events.” Both initiatives aim to support the MICE industry in Thailand.
VMS will help Thai MICE companies run business events online and upgrade their employees’ skills on virtual platforms, while the “Simple Ways” initiative will allow MICE venue owners and operators to upgrade their safety and health standards.
London, 16th April: Last week, Informa unveiled its financial response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The group revealed that the measures will include the following: temporarily suspending dividends, cutting executive pay and issuing new shares worth about 20% of its total existing capital.
Informa reportedly plans to raise approximately £1 billion in order to strengthen its balance sheet and reduce its debt from £2.4 billion (US$2.9 billion) to £1.4 billion (US$$1.7 billion). The group will place 250,318,000 new ordinary shares or approximately 20% of the group’s existing issued share capital – which will raise £1 billion.
Business Strategies Group is the only market intelligence & strategy consulting firm in Asia with a special focus on business media, information and events. Our services include research, market intelligence, mergers and acquisition support and strategy development.
Subscribe to our free brief industry newsletter to receive a weekly update on the latest in B2B media in Asia.
