HK government offers new stimulus to travel agents

Hong Kong, 30th November: The Hong Kong government has announced a further HK$600 million (US$77.4 million) in COVID-19 relief aimed at the city’s tourism industry as Hong Kong ensure a fourth wave of infections. The measures were unveiled as part of Chief Executive Carrie Lam’s policy address.

Under the scheme, each licensed travel agent in Hong Kong will receive a cash subsidy. The plan is expected to benefit some 1,700 agents. The amount received will depend on the number of staff. Agents with 10 or less staff will receive a fixed amount, HK$100,000 (US$12,900). Larger agents will receive HK$10,000 per staff member.

MCEC reopens with restrictions

Melbourne, 27th November: The Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (MCEC) has been permitted to reopen, however, events held at the venue need to follow certain COVID-19 restrictions.

Currently, events are limited to 25% of the venue’s seating capacity with a maximum of 250 people seated. The density has been limited to one person per 4 m2 in non-fixed seating areas. In addition, free standing events are currently not allowed, but event capacity will be increased over time as the situation improves.

Hyve Group’s revenues drop 52% in FY2020

London, 1st December: Earlier this week, London-listed Hyve Group (formerly ITE Group), released its preliminary results for the year ended 30th September 2020. Revenues for the year were £105.1 million (US$141.5 million). That represents a 52% drop year-on-year. This was, of course, due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the financial year, Hyve sold a total of 364,000 m2 at its events, compared with the figure of 783,000 m2 in the previous year. The company posted a loss before tax of £18.7 million (US$25.2 million), compared with a profit of £50.4 million (US$67.9 million) in the previous year. Adjusted net debt was £67.7 million (US$91.2 million), as of 30th September 2020.

In Asia, the company performed comparatively stronger as it generated revenues of £17.1 million (US$23 million), compared with £23.2 million (US$31.2 million) last year. Profits before tax during the year was £7.3 million (US$9.8 million), down from the £9.4 million (US$12.7 million) last year.

Informa to launch jewellery show in Bangkok

Bangkok, 30th November: Informa Markets, the largest global organiser of jewellery exhibitions, will launch a new event in Thailand next year. Through Informa Markets Jewellery, the company will organise the inaugural Jewellery & Gem ASEAN Bangkok (JGAB) in November 2021.

The JGAB show will run from 9th to 12th November 2021, occupying approximately 8,000 m2, at the Bangkok International Trade & Exhibition Centre (BITEC). The new show will extend the footprint of Informa Markets Jewellery into Thailand, one of the world’s leading coloured gemstone and jewellery manufacturing hubs. The largest competing event in Thailand is the Bangkok Gems & Jewelry Fair which organised by the Department of International Trade Promotion (DITP) – part of the Ministry of Commerce of Thailand.

UFI’s annual Global Congress go digital

Paris, 24th November: As a result of the on-going global pandemic, UFI went ahead with its 87th UFI Global Congress – in an online only format. According to the association, approximately 700 UFI members from more than 50 countries and regions joined the event, which ran from 16th to 19th November.

The digital congress offered content from UFI’s global regions – including Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas – and was available live and on-demand. All Global Congress sessions will remain available on-demand until 4th December. UFI’s press release noted that over “1,200 connections were registered directly on the platform.”

HKTDC opts not to proceed with book fair

Hong Kong, 23rd November: This week, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) announced that the HKTDC Hong Kong Book Fair will be “rescheduled” to July 2021. The event had been scheduled to run from 16th to 22nd December at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). It was to be co-located with the HKTDC Hong Kong Sports and Leisure Expo.
The HKTDC press release noted that the organiser “met with representatives of the Book Fair’s supporting organisations again today (23rd November). With the safety of the public and exhibitors being the organiser's top priority, and considering that indoor mass gatherings should be avoided, it was agreed unanimously by the HKTDC and supporting organisations that there would be significant risk should the Book Fair be held in December, even with various precautionary measures being put in place. A decision was therefore made to reschedule the event to July 2021.”

Hong Kong-Singapore travel bubble quickly pops

Hong Kong, 21st November: The governments of Hong Kong and Singapore had agreed to establish a “travel bubble” that was to commence on 22nd November. The arrangement would have allowed residents of Hong Kong and Singapore to travel between the two cities without requiring a quarantine period. The terms of the agreement would have required multiple COVID-19 tests, downloading a tracking app and an application for the newly created Air Travel Pass.

The travel bubble, however, never officially opened. Hong Kong began experiencing a spike in cases on Friday and Saturday last week, and on Sunday the two governments agreed to delay opening of the bubble for at least two weeks. The number of new cases in Hong Kong has since jumped from a daily average of about ten to between 60 and 80 each day.

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 2020)

Quick takes

Online event start-up valued at US$2.1 billion

Hopin is a start-up that offers online events software. The company just raised US$125 million. With all the money being thrown at online events, surely one of these platforms will work properly.

Japan’s attempt at building casinos faltering

The government in Japan has been talking about building integrated resorts (with large convention and exhibition space) for years, but one-by-one leading international casino operators have pulled out. Now it seems Genting is losing confidence in the project.

Macau stalls on opening border with Hong Kong

Hong Kong has recorded single digit COVID-19 cases for weeks. Most of the cases have been “imported” (i.e. infections detected in residents returning from overseas). Hong Kong has also already established a travel bubble with Singapore, but Macau’s leader says Hong Kong’s “situation poses risk to Macau.”

China-U.S. relations threaten tech giants

This storyline has been simmering for months and it will continue for months or even years depending on the state of relations between the world’s two largest economies. The Washington Post has a good summary of the current situation.

CCID Consulting records drop in revenues and net profit

Beijing, 13th November: Last week, CCID Consulting, an IT research and information service provider based in China and listed in Hong Kong, released its financial results for the nine months ended 30th September 2020. Revenues for the period were US$14.2 million. This represents a 27% year-on-year decrease. Net profit in the first nine months of the year dropped 96%, down to US$120,000. Earnings per share in the period were RMB 0.0049 (US$0.0007).

The Beijing-based company attributed the decrease in revenues and profit to quarantine measures adopted in some cities in China due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus in the first half of the year. According to the company, it has resumed its business and accelerated its business expansion as at the date of the financial report.

BOL’s profit jumps 20% in Q3

Bangkok, 13th November: Business Online (BOL), a leading online information service provider in Thailand, reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2020. Revenues grew 11% in the quarter, reaching US$5.6 million. Net profit in the quarter was US$1.95 million, an increase of 20% year-on-year.

The Bangkok-listed company attributed jump in revenues to an increase in special project revenues as well as higher income from its business information services and business decision-making systems in the quarter. The increase in profit was supported by a slowdown in the company’s spending as a result of the uncertainty and on-going impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on business operations.

ProWine China 2020 visitors up nearly 10%

Shanghai, 16th November: ProWine China 2020 concluded on 12th November, attracting a total of over 22,000 trade visitors, an increase of 9.2% compared to the previous edition - despite the fact that strict anti-epidemic measures were applied by the organisers, Messe Düsseldorf and Informa Markets. The organisers claim that ProWine China is the only international wines and spirits trade fair to go ahead since the outbreak of COVID-19 earlier this year.

Running from 10th to 12th November at the Shanghai New International Expo Centre (SNIEC), ProWine China featured a total of 400 wine producers and distributors from 17 countries and regions. In addition to local visitors from Shanghai, trade visitors also came from Beijing, Guangdong, Sichuan, Hainan, Shandong, Liaoning, Inner Mongolia and Macau.

Baidu posts US$2b profit in Q3

Beijing, 16th November: Earlier this week, Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search provider, released its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2020. Revenues in the quarter were US$4.2 billion, a moderate increase of 1% year-on-year. The company posted a net profit of US$2.02 billion in the quarter, compared with a net loss of US$892 million in the same quarter of last year.

Revenues from Baidu’s core business were US$3.15 billion in the quarter, a 2% increase year-on-year. Of which, US$2.72 billion were generated from its online marketing business, while non-online marketing revenue amounted to US$434 million. Online marketing revenue was flat compared to last year, and non-online marketing revenue grew 14%, due to the growth of Baidu’s cloud services.

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 2020)

Quick takes

Informa looking financially stronger

The world’s largest commercial exhibition organiser, Informa Plc, is expected to be cashflow positive by January. Its share price jumped 27% on the news that Pfizer is making progress with its COVID-19 vaccine.

Singapore and Hong Kong to launch travel bubble

The two cities have agreed to ease travel restrictions beginning on 22nd November. There will be quite a few hurdles for travellers to jump through such as COVID-19 tests, downloading a tracking app and obtaining an “Air Travel Pass.” This should be viewed as a pilot programme as initially only 200 people will be permitted to travel each direction on any given day.

U.S.-based Emerald Holdings looks to 2021

Emerald Holdings, perhaps somewhat optimistically, is looking to the first quarter of 2021 to restart some of its events. The group’s third quarter revenues were down 89% with the cancellation of 29 exhibitions.

COVID-19 cases in Malaysia spike

In the last two weeks, Malaysia has recorded over 13,000 new confirmed cases. That represents a large spike. Since the beginning of the pandemic, the country has recorded less than 44,000. MACEOS advocating for events to be allowed to continue.

Sino Splendid’s revenues drop 59%

Hong Kong, 9th November: Earlier this week, Hong Kong-listed Sino Splendid (formerly China.com) announced its financial results for the nine months ended 30th September 2019. Revenues in the period were US$3.4 million, a 59% decrease compared with the same period in 2019. The company recorded a loss of US$1.5 million in the first nine months of 2020, compared with a loss of US$738,000 in the same period last year.

More than half of its total revenues were generated from Sino Splendid’s Travel Media Business, amounting to US$1.8 million. This represents a decrease of 70% compared to last year. The decrease was almost entirely due to the outbreak of COVID-19 and its impact on the travel industry.

The company also reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September. Revenues in the quarter dropped 59% year-on-year, down to US$897,000. The loss in the quarter was US$193,000, compared with the loss of US$102,000 in the third quarter of 2019.

Japan’s Uzabase sells Quartz

Japan, 9th November: Uzabase, a Japanese media company, announced plans to sell Quartz, U.S.-based online business news publisher, to its co-founder and editor-in-chief for an undisclosed amount.

Uzabase bought Quartz from Atlantic Media in 2018 in a deal valued at approximately US$110 million. Quartz’s operations were hard hit by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The company laid off about 80 employees earlier this year. According to media reports, Quartz had 188 staff at the end of last year.

Alibaba’s revenue up, profit down

Hangzhou, 5th November: Also last week, the Alibaba Group, released its financial results for the quarter ended 30th September 2020. The company recorded total revenues of US$22.8 billion, up 30% year-on-year. However, the group’s net income dropped 63% in the same quarter, down to US$3.9 billion.

Revenues from Alibaba’s B2B business in China, primarily generated through 1688.com, were US$536 million, an increase of 11% year-on-year. Revenues from its international B2B business, primarily operating through Alibaba.com, jumped 44%, reaching US$517 million.

The group also released its financial results for the six months ended 30tsh September, generating revenues of US$45.5 billion, an increase of 32% year-on-year. Net profit decreased 19% in the six-month period, down to US$10.7 billion. Diluted earnings per share in the first half of the financial year were RMB 27.83 (US$4.10).

Alibaba generates US$74 billion of GMV on Global Shopping Festival

Hangzhou, 12th November: The Alibaba Group, the largest e-commerce company in China, announced that the company generated US$74.1 billion of gross merchandise volume (GMV) during its 2020 11.11 Global Shopping Festival. The event is also known as “Singles Day.”

This year, the festival featured two shopping windows, the first running from 1st to 3rd and the second for 24 hours on 11th November. Total GMV was calculated from 1st to 11th November. The figure doubled last year’s record of US$38.4 billion.