Weekly Newsletter
Singapore, 11th April: Nazara Technologies Limited, a Singapore subsidiary of NODWIN Gaming, has acquired a 51% stake in Branded, a Singapore-based “full-service live media company.” No financial details of the acquisition were disclosed.
Branded, founded in 2001, is a leading Singapore-based live media company, that has built a portfolio of award-winning events (and online platforms) that is owns and operates.
Hangzhou, 28th March: The Alibaba Group, China’s largest e-commerce company, has announced that it will reorganise its business into six groups – a move designed to “unlock shareholder value and foster market competitiveness” according to the management. It is also likely aimed to please the authorities in Beijing who have been eyeing the power of Chinese tech giants in recent years.
The six business groups will be: Cloud Intelligence Group, Taobao Tmall Commerce Group, Local Services Group, Cainiao Smart Logistics, Global Digital Commerce Group, and Digital Media and Entertainment Group. According to Alibaba, each business group will retain the flexibility to raise outside capital and pursue an initial public offering (IPO).
Hong Kong, 24th March: Last week, the HC Group, an online B2B information services provider in China, reported total revenues of US$2.4 billion for the year ended 31st December 2022. This represents a decrease of about 3% year-on-year. The company did manage to reduce its net loss from US$101 million in 2021 to US$33 million in 2022.
According to HC Group, the decrease in revenues was mainly attributable to weak performance in the chemical, electronics, and garment segments. There was also a write-off of goodwill and other intangible assets in its technology retail business.
Thailand, 30th March: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has released a “Five-Year Action Plan” (from 2023 to 2027) as part of its commitment to strengthen trade exhibitions.
TCEB will deliver its new “Professional Exhibition Organisers (PEOs) Empowerment: In-cash Support” scheme which will provide support on government facilitation processes, qualified partners list, technology options, PR services and carbon neutral event guidelines.
After three years of the COVID-zero policies, the Canton Fair is back and open for business. The bellwether event will run in three phases from 15th April to 5th May. New venue space will also be available at the Canton Fair complex (“Area D”) which will expand the available exhibition area from 1.18 million sqm to 1.5 million sqm.
The industry is very optimistic about how quickly and strongly the markets in Hong Kong and China are bouncing back. This year, Hong Kong is set to host more than 100 international business events and AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) has over 200 confirmed events to date for 2023.
Business Events Sydney (BESydney) looks to pick-up where it left off before the pandemic – targeting huge Asian visitor groups. This week, 50 international planners and media are arriving in Sydney from China, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Korea.
The Asia Pacific Incentives and Meetings Event (AIME) was held in February. Organisers claim that US$134 million in new business was generated during the event. That figure is close to a 70% increase compared with 2022.
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 2023)
Hong Kong, 22nd March: Live Nation Entertainment, a New York-listed festival and ticketing company, has acquired a majority stake in Clockenflap, a Hong Kong event organiser which owns the Clockenflap Music and Arts Festival, an open-air music festival.
Clockenflap was launched in 2008. The first edition was held at the Cyberport development in Hong Kong before moving to a site in West Kowloon and growing into a proper music festival.
Following the acquisition, Clockenflap’s team will continue to curate, manage and produce its festivals and events. The company will be supported with access to Live Nation’s portfolio of more than 130 festivals worldwide and its global resources.
Guangzhou, 14th March: The Canton Fair (also known as the 133rd China Import and Export Fair) will be held next month – both in-person and online. This is the first edition since China has re-opened to the world and it will feature three new sections and zones.
The three new exhibition sections are: Industrial Automation and Intelligent Manufacturing in Phase 1, New Energy and Intelligent Connect Vehicles in Phase 1, and Maternity, Baby and Children Products in Phase 2.
With the opening of the new area of the Canton Fair Complex, the Spring 2023 Canon Fair will expand its total exhibition area to 1.5 million m2 – featuring about 70,000 booths.
Asia, 21st March: According to the latest Daily Rates research by ECA International, Singapore is now ranked as the second most expensive location in Asia for business travel with the average business trip to Singapore costing US$515 per day. That is an increase of US$34 compared with last year.
The top five “Most Expensive Locations for Business Travel in Asia” are: Hong Kong (globally 16th), Singapore (globally 19th), Tokyo (globally 37th), Shanghai (globally 50th), and Seoul (globally 57th).
Taiwan, 16th March: This week, Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) announced the “exemption of reporting and isolation for mild COVID-19 cases,” effective 20th March 2023.
Meanwhile, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) in Taiwan announced plans to restart more cross-strait passenger flight services. Since 10th March 2023, ten routes have been scheduled flights have been reinstated. This week an additional 13 chartered routes will be restarted.
For the first time in its (nearly) 100-year history, UFI will take its annual congress to the U.S. Registration has officially opened for the 90th UFI Global Congress, which will be held on 1st to 4th November in Las Vegas.
That seems quite debatable, but M&C Asia gives it a shot.
Singapore EXPO unveils a number of initiatives aimed at allowing the venue to achieve net-zero carbon neutrality by 2024.
Exhibition World interviews CloserStill Media’s Andy Kiwanuka about Singapore and its plans in Southeast 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 2023)
London, 16th March: Providence Equity Partners agreed to a deal to acquire Hyve Group. The deal values Hyve at approximately £481 million (US$586 million). An earlier, slightly lower bid had been reportedly rejected by Hyve’s board.
Providence Equity Partners also has held a majority stake in CloserStill Media for the past five years. In the past, Providence has also owned and subsequently sold stakes in Clarion Events and GLM. Hyve’s portfolio covers retail, fintech, education, natural resources and manufacturing. The group organises over 30 physical and 20+ online events each year.
New York, 14th March: And finally, Cvent which is large meetings, events and hospitality technology provider announced this week that it agreed to be acquired by Blackstone, a private equity firm for approximately US$4.6 billion.
Cvent stockholders will receive $8.50 per share in cash. That represents a 52% premium over Cvent’s recent share price. Cvent has more than 22,000 clients primarily in the corporate, non-profit, higher education and hospitality sectors.
Bangkok, 9th March: Last week, Pico Thailand, the Thai-listed subsidiary of Pico Far East Holdings, announced its results for the quarter ended 31st January 2023. Revenues during the quarter were US$7.2 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 2.9%. However, the company posted a loss of US$210,000 in the quarter, compared with a small profit of US$7,000 in the same quarter of 2022.
The company attributed the increase in revenue to the government easing the measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 and the recovering of the economy. The company managed cost of projects in highly competitive, increasing costs and increasing inflation rate conditions, while the selling & administrative expenses were increased due to sales increase and the overhead control measures implemented to respond to uncertain economic conditions last year, in the result of posting a loss in the reported period.
Siew Hoon Yeoh posts a detailed take on the recovery of all types of travel and airline capacity in China. Perhaps most interesting and quite concerning: “Foreign airlines were caught unawares by the sudden reopening and deployed their capacity elsewhere. Besides, they are making so much money in other markets, they are not in a huge hurry to come back to China.”
China stated this week that it would restart issuing all types of visas as of 15th March. “The authorities also said it would honour visas issued before 28th March 2020 that are still within their validity dates.” That is certainly contrary to what BSG has heard from visitors to China in recent weeks.
VIV Asia 2023, an agricultural show, was held the first week of March in Bangkok. The exhibition featured over 1,100 exhibitors from 57 countries. That international participation bodes well for the peak trade show season coming next month to exhibition markets throughout Southeast Asia and in key markets like Hong Kong.
During the recent meeting of ASEAN Tourism Ministerial in Indonesia, the ministers approved the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement on Tourism Professionals for MICE professionals and event professionals. TCEB led the work on this initiative.
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 2023)
London, 9th March: In a surprise move, London-listed Informa PLC announced that it will acquire the Tarsus Group, a B2B events group, from private equity firm Charterhouse Capital Partners for US$940 million which will be funded with cash as well as US$210 million of newly issued Informa shares.
Under the terms of the agreement, Informa will manage a joint “combination programme” with three key objectives:
1. Deliver: Maximise 2023 performance, minimizing disruption and distraction.
2. Discover: Make growth-focused people, brand and business combination decisions.
3. Combine: Operate the portfolios as one company under the Informa brand.
Paris/Kuala Lumpur, 7th March: UFI, the Global Association of the Exhibition Industry, hosted its UFI Asia-Pacific Conference in Malaysia, for the first time in four years due to COVID. The last in-person edition was held in Tokyo in March 2019. The 2023 edition in Kuala Lumpur ran from 2nd to 3rd March, attracting approximately 220 delegates from more than 20 countries and regions.
The event was held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) and hosted by the Malaysia Convention & Exhibition Bureau (MyCEB). The two-day conference covered a broad range of topics and updates for the exhibition industry including the role of data in future events, the rise of India, the state of China’s exhibition industry and the importance of effective advocacy. There was also a post-conference city tour of Kuala Lumpur.
London, 9th March: In addition to the blockbuster news of the Tarsus acquisition, Informa PLC also released its full year results for the year ended 31st December 2022, reporting revenues of £2.4 billion (US$2.9 billion), which represents underlying growth of 30%. Adjusted operating profits were £535 million (US$646 million), representing underlying growth of 47%.
Informa’s events business, Informa Markets, reported revenues of £952 million (US$1.2 billion), with underlying growth of 47%. Adjusted operating profits were £171.5 million (US$207 million). That figure is up 154% compared with the previous year.
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.
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