Business events in Australia back to pre-2019 levels

Australia, 27th May: According to Tourism Australia, delegate numbers in key markets have made it back to pre-2019 levels, with the overall spend reaching A$4.5 million (US$3 million). In terms of business travellers spend in Australia, the top three markets were the U.S., China and New Zealand.

Interestingly, Tourism Australia noted that the strongest segment was incentive groups followed by association meetings. Tourism Australia is investing in hiring staff on the ground in Singapore and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.

Alibaba to sell bonds to raise up to US$5 billion

Hangzhou, 23rd May: China’s leading e-commerce company, the Alibaba Group, announced a plan to sell convertible bonds in order to raise US$4.5 billion. The group’s share price immediately fell 5% in Hong Kong.

This follows an announcement in February that its share buyback programme would exceed an incredible US$35 billion.

Quick takes

Messe Düsseldorf post strong numbers

Group revenues increased to €423 million in 2023 – up 36% compared to €311 million in the previous year. Net profits also rose significantly, up 56% to €94.6 million. Management highlighted growth in Turkey and Asia. A dividend of €31.5 million was also approved.

The Washington Post lost US$77 million last year

The group lost US$77 million last year and it has recorded a 50% drop in its audience numbers since 2020. Management’s plan to turn things around? New revenue streams such as “flexible payments” and “frictionless payments.” Yikes. That doesn’t sound like it is going to be enough.

Referral revenue from Facebook expected to decline

This is an interesting article on the outlook of referral revenues. Facebook, as a source of referral revenue, has been sliding for many years. 82% of respondents expect that drop to continue followed by YouTube (67%) and TikTok (57%).

The ongoing story of AI vs. publishers

Another good, long article on publishers grappling with how to confront the threat of AI. Publishers and their lawyers are racing to figure out how to protect the value of their data and content. (It seems this article was researched and written by a real person.)

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 2024)

National Media acquires Australian F&B events

Australia, 16th May: National Media, an Australian exhibition organiser, announced the company has acquired some key events from Specialised Events. Financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The acquired exhibitions include: Foodservice Australia, Food & Hospitality Queensland, Aged Care Catering Summit, National Restaurant Conference, and the Australian Chef of the Year competition.

Sydney pushes to lead business events in Australia

Sydney, 16th May: This week, Business Events Sydney (BESydney) released some details regarding its growing global business event pipeline as Sydney aims to Australia’s leading business events host city.

According to BESydney, Sydney has confirmed that it has won a total of 103 events until 2030 that will generate more than US$338 million in direct expenditure for the local economy. It is expected to attract about 128,000.

Taipei Dome officially opens

Taipei, 22nd May: Taipei recently opened a new venue designed for mega events. The Taipei Dome, a multipurpose stadium, is located in the Xinyi District. It is expected to massively boost business activities within the city.

According to Cheng Peng-Ching from Taipei’s Department of Information and Tourism, the government plans to market the new venue for concerts, festivals and sporting events. It may also host large exhibitions as well as other culture activities. Initially, the Taipei Dome will now focus on attracting events appealing to the local and South-east Asian market. At a later stage, they hope to target the long-haul market. (Taylor Swift, perhaps?)

210 “mega” events to be held in Hong Kong

Hong Kong, 22nd May: Ever since Taylor Swift played six shows in Singapore, Hong Kong’s government has felt the pressure to up its mega event game. This week, Chief Executive of the HKSAR, John Lee, promised a “mega event” will be held once every two days to “boost Hong Kong’s visitor economy and redefine its international image.” The definition of mega event may be stretched in order to host one mega event every other day.

According to the government of Hong Kong, a total of 210 “mega” events will be held during 2024, expecting to attract about 1.7 million international visitors who will generate US$550 million in economic impact.

Quick takes

Constellar (and Singapore) position for “festivalisation” market

At IMEX last week, Constellar was trying to position Singapore Expo as a centre ideal for festivalisation events. SingEx has a lot of competition with the more centrally located Marina Bay Sands and Suntec. In addition, MBS has announced expansion plans. SingEx has, however, hosted the Fintech Festival which attracts 60,000 plus.

AI licensing deals a hot topic with publishers

Meredith has signed a deal with AI tech company OpenAI. The Wall Street Journal’s parent company News Corp signed an AI content deal with Google. Soon there won’t be any human journalists or digital markets left standing.

India security market predicted to grow rapidly

BSG is often asked: “What are the hot topics in Asia?” “Which industries are high grow?” There is rarely an answer that holds true across the region – with few exceptions. Somewhat depressingly, security and “military adjacent” topics such as drones, surveillance tech and homeland security segments are one of those exceptions.

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 2024)

Singapore ranks 2nd worldwide in ICCA’s annual report

Amsterdam, 13th May: ICCA, the International Congress and Convention Association, has recently released its ICCA Ranking Report for 2023. According to the report, Europe hosted a total of 5,735 meetings, while Asia hosted 2,041 and North America hosted 1,873. Africa and the Middle East surpassed their 2019 levels, while other regions posted declines. Ranked by country, the U.S. led the table with 690 recognised meetings, followed by Italy (553) and Spain (505).

In the Asia-Pacific region, Japan hosted 363 meetings and ranked seventh worldwide, Korea hosted 252 meetings (11th worldwide), Australia hosted 219 meetings (13th worldwide), China had 170 meetings (18th worldwide), Singapore had 152 meetings (21st worldwide), Thailand hosted 143 meetings (26th worldwide) and India hosted 123 meetings (30th worldwide).

Ranked by city in the region, Singapore topped the list with 152 meetings and ranked the second worldwide, followed by Seoul with 103 meetings. Other highly ranked cities include: Tokyo (91 meetings), Bangkok (88 meetings) and Taipei (68 meetings).

Alibaba’s shares jump on 13% revenue growth

Hangzhou, 14th May: Earlier this week, China’s largest e-commerce company, the Alibaba Group, announced its financial results for the year ended 31st March 2024. Revenues in the financial year were US$130 billion, representing year-on-year growth of 13%. Net income in the year grew 9%, reaching US$9.9 billion. Diluted earnings per share for the year were RMB 31.24 (US$4.33).

In terms of its B2B business, revenues generated from Alibaba’s B2B business in China under the Taobao and Tmall Group, mainly through its 1688.com platform, were US$2.8 billion, resulting in a year-on-year increase of 15%. The international B2B business under the Alibaba International Digital Commerce Group, primarily on Alibaba.com, posted a 7% increase in revenues, reaching US$2.9 billion. The B2B businesses only accounted for just 4.4% of Alibaba’s total revenues.

Baidu’s revenues flat in Q1 2024

Beijing, 16th May: Yesterday, Baidu, the leading Chinese language Internet search company, reported revenues of US$4.4 billion for the quarter ended 31st March 2024, which is a slight increase of 1% year-on-year. The company recorded a decrease of 6% in its net profits in the quarter, down to US$755 million. Diluted earnings per share in the quarter were RMB 1.86 (US$0.26).

More than 58% of Baidu’s revenues were generated from its online marketing services, amounting to US$2.6 billion. That figure grew 2.9% year-on-year. The remaining revenues, categorised as “other” dropped by 1.1%, amounting to US$1.8 billion. According to the company, its AI business was still the key growth driver of the its revenues.

BOL posts decrease in revenues and profits in Q1

Bangkok, 14th May: Business Online (BOL), a leading online business information service provider in Thailand, also reported its financial results for the quarter ended 31st March 2024. The company recorded revenues of US$5.0 million for the quarter, representing a decrease of 3.9% year-on-year.

BOL’s net profits for the three-month period dropped 4.2% to US$1.8 million. Diluted earnings per share in the first quarter of 2024 were Baht 0.08 (US$0.0022).

Quick takes

Penang adding capacity, but space still tight

It has been a busy week with quite a few noteworthy announcements coming out of IMEX in Frankfurt. Penang has added capacity with its large-scale venue, the Penang Waterfront Convention Centre (PWCC) which will open next spring, but its CVB CEO said at IMEX space for business events could still run out in the next two years.

Singapore commits to carbon neutral events

At IMEX Frankfurt, the Singapore Tourism Board (STB) launched a toolkit to achieve more sustainable business events. The STB is aiming for carbon neutral participation at international tradeshows. This is the first time STB has committed to holding itself accountable to carbon neutral standards.

RX appoints new GM of RX India

International exhibition organiser, RX Global, has appointed Umang Gupta as the Country General Manager for RX India. He was previously the Marketing Director for Elsevier in India & Southeast Asia. In the new role, he will focus on expanding RX’s events portfolio in India.

Hong Kong to host Routes World 2025

AsiaWorld-Expo will host Informa Markets’ Routes World 2025. The event will attract 3,000 delegates from airlines and airports. It features industry executives, heads of air-network planning and other participants from more than 260 of the world’s leading airlines. The 30th edition of Routes World is scheduled to be held from 24th to 26th September 2025 when Hong Kong’s third runway will be operational.

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 2024)

RX acquires energy conferences

London, 8th May: RX Global, a leading international exhibition organiser, announced this week that it has acquired Sustainable Energy Conferences Limited (SEC), the owner and organiser of the World Hydrogen Summit, Hydrogen Americas, Hydrogen Asia-Pacific and the Sustainable Energy Council brand. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed. After the acquisition, the SEC team will join RX.

SEC is focused on the green energy, low carbon sector covering everything from production to transmission to distribution and storage of hydrogen.

Informa’s positive market update

London, 8th May: Earlier this week, London listed Informa PLC released its latest trading update, key appointments as well as progress on its TechTarget integration.

According to the company, all of its business segments are performing to the upper end market guidance on revenues, adjusted operating profit and free cash flow. During the first four months of the year, the revenue growth across its B2B Markets (Informa Markets, Informa Connect and Informa Tech) and Academic Markets are performing well.

Netsun’s revenues up, but profits down in FY2023

Hangzhou, 27th April: Shenzhen-listed Zhejiang Netsun announced its results for the year ended 31st December 2023, with revenues of US$61 million. This represents modest year-on-year growth of 2.1%. Netsun’s exhibition service revenues were the key growth driver.

Net profits, however, dropped 16% year-on-year, down to US$2.7 million. The decrease in profit was mainly due to rising costs. Diluted earnings per share in 2023 were RMB 0.08 (US$0.011).

Arinex buys business events agency

Australia, 9th May: Australasian event management company, Arinex, expanded its New Zealand footprint by acquiring Auaha, a New Zealand-based business events agency. Auaha is a New Zealand business events agency and PCO. The acquisition will enable Arinex to expand its market presence and to the New Zealand MICE industry.

Nicole Walker, CEO of Arinex, commented, “This acquisition aligns with our dedication to driving innovation and delivering exceptional value to our clients. By integrating the expertise, Māori cultural competency and insights of Auaha, Arinex aims to deliver an enhanced value proposition and unparalleled event management solutions to its clients across Australasia.”