Quick takes

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New event space in Manila

The MGBX Convention Hall has been added to the Newport World Resort in Manila. This new venue has a total floor area of 4,400 m2. The Philippines is slowly returning to a living with COVID approach that has been adopted in other markets in Asia.

Event and travel costs going are rising

Usurpingly, the cost of everything related to getting to and from events, staying in a hotel, and organising events is rising. According to the 2023 Global Business Travel Forecast air fare, hotel and transport costs will climb well into next year.

Malaysia’s Business Events Week returns

Another sign that Southeast Asian governments are embracing the living with COVID approach, MyCEB’s Business Events Week returns to an in-person format. It will run from 29th August to 1st September and it will be held at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur. Now in its 7th edition, MyCEB expects more than 700 delegates.

HKTDC’s Food Expo attracts 430,000+ visitors

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Hong Kong, 11th August: Earlier this week, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded its Food Expo. The Food Expo was held concurrently with several other events: the Home Delights Expo, the Beauty & Wellness Expo, and the Hong Kong International Tea Fair at Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC). The events ran from 11th to 15th August. More than 1,000 exhibitors and over 430,000 visitors attended the fairs.

According to the HKTDC, the Tea Fair and the Food Expo’s Trade Zone also utilised its online platform, Exhibition+, which allows global buyers to source through both the HKTDC’s physical exhibitions and an online platform.

Sino Splendid up in revenues, but widen loss

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Hong Kong, 12th August: Last week, Hong Kong-listed company Sino Splendid (formerly China.com) announced its results for the six-month period ended 30th June 2022. Revenues in the period were US$4.8 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 43%. However, the company posted a loss of US$2.6 million in the first half of 2022 compared with a loss of US$1.4 million during the same period in 2021.

More than 75% of Sino Splendid’s revenues were generated from its financial magazine & other media business, amounting to US$3.6 million. This figure is up 65% year-on-year. Its second largest business, the travel media business, generated revenues of US$718,000, which accounted for 15% of total revenues. The travel media business jumped 60% compared with last year. The remaining revenues were generated from Sino Splendid’s virtual reality business (US$408,000) and oddly, the company’s very small “money lending” business (US$69,000).

Shenzhen Gift Show features 4,500 exhibitors

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Shenzhen, 11th August: Co-organised by RX Huabo (formerly Reed Exhibitions Huabo) and Alibaba, the 30th Shenzhen Gift Show combined with Alibaba’s 1666 Direct Purchase Season was held from 15th to 18th June at the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center featuring some 4,500 exhibitors.

This year, most exhibitions scheduled to be held in Shenzhen have been cancelled or postponed due to COVID restrictions. According to the organisers, the show was the first local gift exhibition held in 2022 and the first large-scale comprehensive B2B trade show for consumer goods held in China this year. Covering an area of 240,000 m2 occupying 12 exhibition halls with 11,000 booths. The four-day show reportedly attracted more than 250,000 buyers.

Informa Markets’ revenues up 111% in first half

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London 4th August: London-listed Informa PLC has released its financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2022. Revenues in the first half were £1.10 billion (US$1.3 billion), representing an underlying increase of 44%. Adjusted operating profit was £234.5 million (US$284 million), representing a growth of 126%.

Informa’s event business, Informa Markets, generated revenues of £421.4 million (US$511 million) in the period, an increase of 111%. Informa Markets posted an adjusted operating profit of £76 million (US$92 million), compared with a loss of £42.2 million (US$60 million) in the first half of 2021.

Alibaba reports a weak quarter and cuts jobs

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Hangzhou, 4th August: Last week, Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce company, announced its results for the quarter ended 30th June 2022. The company recorded revenues of US$30.7 billion, flat compared with the same quarter last year. Its profits dropped 50% year-on-year, down to US$3.4 billion. This represents one of the weakest quarters in the history of the company. The Group also reported that it cut jobs for the first time since 2016. So far this year, Alibaba has cut nearly 10,000 jobs or 3.8% of its total workforce.

Just over 76% of Alibaba’s total revenues were generated from its core e-commerce business amounting to US$23.5 billion. Just 4.8% of total revenues were generated from Alibaba’s B2B platforms. Revenues from Alibaba’s China B2B business, primarily generated through 1688.com, grew by 26%, to US$740 million. Meanwhile, its international B2B business, primarily traded on Alibaba.com, generated revenues of US$736 million, a 12% increase year-on-year.

ICCA releases new ranking of destinations

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The Netherlands, 4th August: The International Congress and Convention Association (ICCA) has released a new destination ranking and an updated methodology which takes into account how the pandemic impacted the association meetings industry last year. ICCA team has introduced a new methodology, the Destination Performance Index (DPI), to provide a more holistic view of how destinations have addressed the pandemic.

The U.S. led the overall DPI, followed by Spain and Germany. In the Asia, Japan, ranked 7th worldwide and Japan was first in the region. Ten other countries and regions in Asia were in the global top 50 of the DPI: China (9th), South Korea (10th), Australia (20th), Taiwan (24th), Singapore (25th), India (32nd), Thailand (39th), Malaysia (43rd), Hong Kong and Indonesia (45th).

BOL’s profits up 15% in Q2

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Bangkok, 5th August: Business Online (BOL), an online information service provider in Thailand, reported its financial results for the quarter ended 30th June 2022. Revenues during the quarter were US$5.3 million, a year-on-year increase of 8.0%. The company’s profits grew by 15%, reaching US$2.2 million. BOL attributed the increase in revenues to a stronger than expected performance and improvements in the overall Thai economy.

BOL also announced its results for the six months ended 30th June. Revenues in the first half of the year were US$10 million, up 6.7% year-on-year. Net profits in the six-month period increased by a robust 16%, to US$4.0 million. Diluted earnings per share during the first half of 2022 were Baht 0.169 (US$0.0048).

Tokyo Big Sight to manage new venue

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Tokyo, 8th August: The company that operates Tokyo Big Sight has announced that it will begin to manage a new exhibition centre next year. The Ariake GYM-EX, scheduled to open by mid-2023, offers a total floor area of 36,500 m2 – including 9,400 m2 of exhibition space. Other facilities include a parking area that can accommodate more than 300 vehicles, some office space and four conference rooms.

Ariake GYM-EX is named for Ariake (its location), GYM (for gymnastics), and EX (for exhibitions). The venue was built as the official venue for the gymnastics competition at the Tokyo Summer Olympics and Paralympic Games. It has since been converted into an exhibition venue by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

Quick takes

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Hong Kong plays up (possible) year-end events

The government in Hong Kong has eased its mandatory hotel quarantine from seven days to three days followed by four days of “medical surveillance.” While any progress is welcome, if those restrictions are still in place for the Hong Kong Sevens (rugby tournament) and a global financial summit scheduled in November, then those two events are likely to be muted affairs at best. Monocle reports that “top Wall Street CEOs told Hong Kong officials last week that they will not attend (the financial summit) unless they can skip quarantine entirely.”

Korea cracks ICCA’s top ten for first time

ICCA has released its 2022 destination ranking and Korea has broken into the top ten replacing the Netherlands. Korea was helped in part by ICCA’s decision to include hybrid meetings in the 2022 results. COVID led ICCA to refine its approach to the report by creating the Destination Performance Index which factored in meetings that were affected by the pandemic. (See longer article for details.)

Japan’s CVBs want more physical events

Japan hosted 3,620 international conferences in 2019. Those conferences attracted nearly two million delegates. In 2020, Japan hosted just over 220. Now, as restrictions are removed, the country’s CVBs are focused on rebuilding the industry in the wake of the global pandemic.

More good news from Singapore

While Hong Kong languishes behind its wall of COVID restrictions, the Lion City is back. Key events held in 2022 include: the Singapore Airshow in February, Singapore International Water Week in April, and the Global Health Security Conference held in June. In addition, this week the Monetary Authority of Singapore announced that the successful Fintech Festival would be back in November.

Fira de Barcelona to manage venues in China

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China, 28th July: Fira de Barcelona announced plans to manage two exhibition centres in China: Xuzhou Greenland Huaihai International Expo Center in Xuzhou and Nanchang Greenland International Expo Center in Nanchang.

Located in the southeast of China, the Nanchang Greenland International Expo Center offers exhibition space of 170,000 m2. The venue has already confirmed plans to host 25 trade fairs this year. While Xuzhou Greenland Huaihai, located in eastern-central China has exhibition space of 66,000 m2 and there are plans to expand to the venue to 136,000 m2 in phases. The venue has 15 trade shows in its calenda this year.

RELX’s exhibition revenues jump 226% post-pandemic

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London, 28th July: RELX Group plc, parent company of RX Global (formerly Reed Exhibitions), recently released its latest financial results for the six months ended 30th June 2022. Group revenues were £3.97 billion (US$4.8 billion) in the first half of the year, representing growth of 13%. Its adjusted operating profit increased by 16%, reaching £1.24 billion (US$1.5 billion).

RELX’s exhibition business generated revenues of £394 million (US$478 million), representing a jump of 226%. Its adjusted operating profit was £59 million (US$72 million) compared with a loss of £48 million (US$66 million) in the previous year.

jwc awarded Shenzhen World phase two contract

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Shenzhen, 2nd August: jwc GmbH, an exhibition management consultancy founded by former UFI president, Jochen Witt, has announced that the company will develop the “master plan” for the Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Center’s phase two. jwc will work alongside Shenzhen World’s Chinese partners.

The new contract will features services such as strategy development, positioning, key management functions, operations and the layout of the extension. In 2016, jwc was also awarded a contract to manage some of Shenzhen World’s pre-opening activities – including a feasibility study, master plan development and other pre-opening support services.

Quick takes

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People are flying again, airports struggle to respond

Around the globe, business travellers and tourists are returning to the air. In the first five months of 2022, 250 million international arrivals were recorded – up from 77 million in same period in 2021. There are challenges though as airlines and airports struggle to keep up with the surging demand.

Thailand’s decision to open early is paying off

Along with Singapore, Thailand was one of the first Asian countries to ease its COVID restrictions and reopen its borders to international visitors. Now that decision is paying dividends as the global travel industry took note. In December, the Pacific Asia Travel Association (PATA) and the Global Business Travel Association (GBTA) will hold a joint meeting at the newly renovated Queen Sirikit National Convention Center.

Malaysian Minister praises local events industry

The recovery of Malaysia’s MICE industry is now well underway as 18 international business events are scheduled this month. Nancy Shukri, the Minister of Tourism, Arts and Culture stated “these business events are expected to bring together close to 24,000 delegates which is estimated to generate more than US$12.5 million in economic impact to the Malaysian economy.”

Hong Kong retail sector hit by “fifth wave”

The Hong Kong government and local media must be one of the only places on earth still talking about “COVID waves.” Lawmaker Peter Shiu said that the “closed borders and the aftermath of the fifth wave of the pandemic in Hong Kong has greatly impacted consumers’ eagerness to spend.” (But it is fair to assume that it is mostly due to the closed borders.)

UFI Survey: Exhibition industry to rebound

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Paris, 26th July: Earlier this week, UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, released its latest research in its bi-annual Global Exhibition Barometer, charting the quickening pace of the exhibition industry’s recovery in 2022.

After experiencing the continued impact of COVID-19 throughout 2021, the exhibition industry is bouncing back, with revenues for the first half of 2023 expected to reach 87% of 2019 levels. About 60% of respondents reported “normal activity”, up from just 30% in the previous Barometer. About 70% of respondents expect to be operating at normal levels by the end of 2022; however, 5% expect to have “no activity” from September 2022.

Alibaba to list in Hong Kong (again)

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Hong Kong, 26th July: Earlier this week, the leading e-commerce company in China, Alibaba Group, announced it will apply for a primary listing on the Main Board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.

The company currently maintains a secondary listing on the Main Board of Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The primary listing process is expected to be completed at the end of 2022, making Alibaba a dual-primary listed company on the New York Stock Exchange and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.