Asia Business Media: September 2012

Friday, September 28, 2012

Messe Düsseldorf to launch footwear event in Shanghai

News this week: Messe Düsseldorf will launch a new footwear trade fair in Shanghai - GDS Select – Premium European Shoe Fair. GDS Select will be held from 17^th to 19^th April 2013 at the Shanghai Exhibition Center.

The new fair will be part of the China International Footwear & Leathergoods Exhibition (CIFL) and will be supported by the China Commerce Association for General Merchandise (CCAGM). Messe Dusseldorf also plans to launch a Beijing edition of GDS Select in autumn 2013 together with the CHIC fashion fair.

GDS Select 2013 will showcase selected international brands and the fair will be open to trade visitors from the retail fashion industry. The organiser expects the fair to occupy an exhibition space of more than 20,000 m² and to feature approximately 200 exhibitors.

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Buyers numbers up 4.5% at HKTDC Watch & Clock Fair

News this week: The Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) concluded its five-day Hong Kong Watch & Clock Fair with more than 17,500 buyers – an increase of 4.5% over last year’s edition. According to the HKTDC, emerging market buyers were up significantly, particularly those from Iran (up 32%), mainland China (up 17%) and Russia (up 17%).

The Hong Kong Watch and Clock Fair reportedly attracted 720 exhibitors from 12 countries and regions and is co-organised by the HKTDC Hong Kong Watch Manufacturers Association and The Federation of Hong Kong Watch Trades and Industries. The event ran from 5^th to 9^th September at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC).

Chinese exhibitors dominate North Korean trade fair

News this week: The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) hosted the eight edition of the Pyongyang Autumn International Trade Fair featuring more than 200 companies from 12 countries. Over 60% of the total number of exhibitors (126 of 200) were from China. The fair which closed on 27^th September focuses on machines, electronics, clothing and vehicles.

O Il Hun, vice director of the Korean International Exhibition Corporation, was quoted as saying, “The annual trade fair plays a positive role in expanding economic relations among countries through joint ventures, investment and science and technology exchanges.”

Alibaba’s mobile OS team spins-off from Aliyun

News this week: Hangzhou-based e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, will reportedly spin-off its mobile operating system (OS) development team from its Aliyun subsidiary. This announcement follows the cancellation last week of the Alibaba-Acer smartphone launch.

According to an internal memo from company CEO Jack Ma, the Alibaba Group will invest US$200 million to expand the mobile OS team. The smartphone launch and news conference was cancelled at the last minute as Google stepped-in to halt what Google deemed to be a breach of its Android Open Handset Alliance agreement by Acer.

Jack Ma’s company memo reportedly read, “To better safeguard the healthy growth of Aliyun OS business and further implement the Group’s Aliyun wireless strategy, we need to make adjustments in terms of talent, organisational structure and the Group’s resource allocation.”

Londero assumes regional role at Reed Exhibitions

News this week: Earlier this week, international exhibition organiser, Reed Exhibitions, announced the promotion of Dan Londero to Regional President for Turkey, India and the Middle East.

Chairman and CEO of Reed Exhibitions, Mike Rusbridge, said, “The formation of Reed Tuyap in Turkey, Reed Manch in India and new partnerships in the Middle East meant that additional senior management capacity was needed in order to meet growth expectations.”

In the meantime, Londero will continue to serve as Global Head of Sales at Reed’s export division. Londero was quoted, “Our global network, which provides valuable support to our customers entering new geographies, will play a significant role in bringing new business into the regions. With experienced local teams focused on adding value for our customers and a strong portfolio of events we look forward to an exciting period of accelerated growth.”

UBM Asia expands livestock portfolio to Myanmar

News this week: UBM Asia, subsidiary of UBM plc., announced the launch of the inaugural Livestock Myanmar Expo at the Tatmadaw Exhibition Hall. The inaugural event will run from 24^th to 26^th October 2013.

Livestock Myanmar will focus on animal husbandry, animal health and bio-security, grain & feed production and the aqua-culture sectors. The event is supported by the Myanmar Livestock Federation and will also feature a 500-delegate conference.

Dr. Mya Han (B,V.S), Chairman of the Myanmar Livestock Federation commented, “The Myanmar Livestock Federation is delighted to support Livestock Myanmar 2013 Expo & Forum as it provides a great occasion for all industry professionals and players including farmers, integrators, feed millers, mixers, veterinarians and processors to convene and exchange their invaluable experiences, ideas and innovation while at the same time it will foster valuable partnerships between Myanmar companies and international enterprises.”

Tarsus partners to launch auto aftermarket show in Jakarta

News this week: Tarsus Group, organiser of the China International Automotive Aftermarket Industry and Tuning Trade Fair (AAITF), has announced its partnership with Indonesian organiser, Dyandra Promosindo, to launch the inaugural AAITF Jakarta in March 2014. Mayfield Media Strategies acted as the broker in this deal.

AAITF Jakarta will be the first aftermarket auto parts trade fair in Indonesia. The event will be held in Hall B of Jakarta International Expo (JIExpo) – which has available space of 3,900 m². The exact date of the fair has not yet been announced, but it will run over three days from a Wednesday to a Friday. The organisers expect more than 170 companies to showcase their products to about 10,000 trade buyers.

Tarsus’ partner, Dyandra Promosindo, is a leading professional exhibition organiser established in Indonesia in 1994. Dyandra has organised more than 200 exhibitions in Jakarta and in other major cities across Indonesia.

Friday, September 21, 2012

Thailand’s TCEB unveils plans for 2013

News this week: The Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau (TCEB) has released details of its “2013 Strategic Plan for Thailand’s MICE industry.” Mr. Thongchai Sridama, Acting Director of TCEB noted, “For 2012, TCEB set a target of 750,000 MICE visitors to Thailand, generating revenues of over 60.12 billion Baht (US$1.95 billion). So far, in the first three quarters of this year, we have already welcomed 639,590 MICE visitors, with revenues estimated at 59 billion Baht (US$1.9 billion). We are therefore confident of meeting or exceeding our annual target this year.”

In 2013, TCEB expects the MICE industry will grow by 7% or more and the agency has set a target of 792,000 MICE visitors and revenues of 63.9 billion Baht (US$2.1 billion).

The 2013 budget will be 870 million Baht of which there are four key areas of focus: management (17% of the total budget), attracting overseas events (37%), market promotion activities (27%) and development activities comprising 19% of the total budget.

Strong showing at Global Sources’ electronic exhibitions

News this week: Earlier this month, Global Sources organised the 14^th edition of the China International Optoelectronic Exposition (CIOE), at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center (SZCEC) from 6^th to 9^th September 2012.

According to Global Sources, CIOE is the largest optoelectronics event in the world and close to 100,000 international and local professionals attended the event. CIOE is also expected to have attracted close to 3,000 exhibitors and occupy 100,000 m² of exhibition space together with the co-located Global Sourcing Fair: Electronics & Components.

Separately, Global Sources’ fall 2012 electronics trade shows are expected to feature a record of 4,000 booths. The co-located events include the China Sourcing Fairs: Electronics & Components, Security Products and Korea Sourcing Fair: Electronics & Components which will be held from 12^th to 15^th October at the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE).

Alibaba’s mobile OS partnership launch halted

News this week: Hangzhou-based e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, and computer manufacturer Acer had scheduled a joint press conference to launch a new smartphone. The event was cancelled at the last minute as Google stepped in to halt what Google deems to be a breach of the Android Open Handset Alliance agreement – signed by Acer.

Acer and Alibaba’s Cloud Computing unit were set to unveil the Acer CloudMobile A800 smartphone, which runs on the Alibaba developed mobile operating system, Aliyun 2.0 cloud OS.

Google’s Android chief, Andy Rubin, described the Aliyun platform as a modified version of Android which is incompatible with other Android devices and thus, as a member of the Open Handset Alliance, Acer’s use of Aliyun would be a breach of that alliance agreement.

CIBTM & Beijing extend partnership agreement

News this week: Reed Travel Exhibitions, organiser of the China Incentive, Business Travel & Meetings Exhibition (CIBTM), has extended its partnership agreement with the Beijing City Government for an additional four years – with the aim of growing the show by 10% annually.

According to the Beijing’s Tourism Department, a US$3.2 million fund was recently set-up to encourage the private sector to bring more international conventions to the city. In 2011, meetings and exhibition revenues in Beijing reached US$3.4 billion – an increase of 22% over 2010. While 286,000 meetings were hosted in Beijing and incentive tourists rose 40% reportedly reaching 300,000.

Additionally, a new alliance was launched at CIBTM. Eight cities, including Beijing, Shanghai, Tianjin, Chengdu, Hangzhou, Kunming, Sanya and Xi’an, agreed to come together to form the China MICE Cities Alliance.

Singapore’s Sports Hub expected to boost local MICE numbers

News this week: Singapore’s Sports Hub venue is scheduled to open its doors in April 2014. The venue will feature a 55,000 seat stadium, two 1,000 person restaurants, a multi-purpose indoor area which can seat up to 3,000 as well as the Sports Information Resource Centre. The Singapore government is forecasting the venue will host 140 events in the stadium each year. It expected that annual visitors to the Sports Hub will be in the range of two to three million.

Adrian Staiti, senior vice president of corporate partnerships & the National Stadium Club stated, “We are designing a diverse calendar, peppered with huge events that will transform tourism as well as the local sporting and entertainment scene in Singapore.”

The venue will be managed by Global Spectrum Asia, a joint venture between Global Spectrum, a facilities management company, and Pico Far East, a Hong Kong-listed event management and contractor.

September Jewellery Exhibition features 3,500+ exhibitors

News this week: UBM Asia’s September Hong Kong Jewellery and Gem Fair is underway in Hong Kong. This is the 30^th anniversary of the exhibition. It runs roughly concurrently at both of Hong Kong major venues: AsiaWorld-Expo (19-23 Sept) and Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (21-25 Sept).

UBM Asia is anticipating that some 51,000 trade buyers will attend the exhibition which will also feature 3,500 exhibitors covering more than 130,000 m². This exhibition is the centrepiece of UBM Asia’s extensive jewellery event portfolio.

Celine Lau, Director of Jewellery Fairs for UBM Asia commented, “The 30^th anniversary of the Fair is an important milestone that could only have been achieved with our accumulated experience and professionalism plus great support from the industry. The September Fair provides a timely opportunity for global jewellers to source the latest products for the subsequent year.”

Friday, September 14, 2012

UBM announces new jewellery & rail shows

Singapore & Malaysia, 7^th September: Last week, international exhibition organiser, UBM plc, announced the launch of new events in Asia: the Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair and Rail Asia in Malaysia.

Singapore Jewellery & Gem Fair will take place at the Marina Bay Sands running from 12^th to 15^th October 2013. The exhibition will feature exhibitors of diamonds, pearls, precious and semi-precious gemstones, fine jewellery and silver jewellery. The new Singapore event will be added to UBM Asia’s portfolio of 12 existing jewellery events in Hong Kong, Mainland China, India, Japan and Turkey.

The Rail Asia 2013 Exhibition & Conference will be hosted by the Construction Industry Development Board Malaysia and co-organised by UBM. The new event will be held from 26^th to 28^th March 2013 at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC).

The theme of the inaugural show will be ‘Transforming Rail Mobility Asia’ and it will include an international exhibition & conference, business networking events and technology symposiums. Products and services exhibited will include rail infrastructure services, rail technology, rail revenue management, tunnelling, and other related services.

Alibaba-Yahoo deal to complete next week

News this week: China’s largest B2B e-commerce company, the Alibaba Group, will pay its key shareholder, U.S.-based Yahoo! Inc., US$7.6 billion to buy back a 20% stake in the company as a result of the agreement reached in May this year.

Yahoo is expected to receive US$7.1 billion as soon as next week, as well as a US$550 million payment related to the ending of annual licensing fees Alibaba pays Yahoo. It is estimated Yahoo will receive approximately US$4.5 billion from the deal after U.S. taxes.

The company initially invested US$1 billion in Alibaba in 2005. The sale leaves Yahoo holding approximately 20% of Alibaba shares. Under the terms of the deal, Yahoo is required to sell an additional 10% if a future Alibaba Group IPO occurs.

Taobao kicks-off expansion plans in Hong Kong and Taiwan

News this week: Alibaba Group’s consumer-focused e-commerce platform Taobao is looking to expand its operations outside China in the near future. Taobao reportedly announced at a press conference this month that the company has already attracted close to two million users in Greater China - including 1.2 million members in Hong Kong and 500,000 in Taiwan.

Alibaba sees Hong Kong and Taiwan as stepping stones to its internationalisation plans. According to media reports, the most popular product categories for Taobao users from Taiwan and Hong Kong are women’s fashion items, women’s shoes and consumer electronics.

Taobao is targeting a user base of three million in Taiwan and aims to generate some 5% of the company’s gross merchandise volume from outside of mainland China.

Pico Thailand: Q3 revenues up, profits down

News this week: Earlier this week, Pico Thailand, a subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Pico Far East Holdings, announced its financial results for the quarter ended 31^st July 2012. In the quarter, Pico Thailand generated revenues of US$8.4 million or a 13% year-on-year increase. However, the company’s net profit in the period dropped 60% to US$160,000.

Pico Thailand also announced its results for the nine-month period ended 31^st July. Revenues in the period were US$31 million, a rise of 11% compared with the same period in 2011. Net profit was US$2.1 million in the nine-month period, an increase of 14% over the first nine months of last year. Earnings per share in the period were Baht 0.386.

The company attributed the increase in revenues to growth in its Event Marketing and Exhibition business, while the decrease in profit was attributed to an increase in selling and administrative expenses.

Update: Indian MICE venues

News this week: According to Indian media reports, a string of MICE venues and facilities are reportedly set to receive upgrades or begin construction in the near future.

The New Delhi exhibition centre Pragati Maidan is reportedly planning to add a 5,000 to 8,000 capacity convention centre to the venue site. Exhibition organiser and venue owner India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) anticipates constructions to begin in two and a half years’ time.

Separately, it was reported that the Pimpri Chinchwad New Township Development Authority (PCNTDA) is preparing for the construction of the International Exhibition and Convention Centre at Moshi, Maharashtra. The exhibition centre will be built on a 200-acre plot with phase one of construction set to begin once land rights issues are cleared.

Finally, the RP Group of Companies will reportedly build a US$55 million convention centre with capacity for 3,000 in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. Construction is set to begin in six months upon receiving the necessary government approvals.

i2i Events acquires organiser with two Asian events

News this week: i2i Events Group, formerly Emap Connect, announced the acquisition of the Coil Winding, Insulation and Electrical Manufacturing Exhibitions (CWIEME) portfolio from private owners Timothy and Joanne House. This is i2i’s first acquisition since its re-branding. The financial details of the acquisition were not disclosed.

The CWIEME portfolio consists of exhibitions in Germany, China, India and the U.S. – as well as the Inductica Conferences. CWIEME exhibitions serve the industrial technology niche of components for electric motors and transformers.

The annual CWIEME Berlin show was first launched in 1996 and became the world’s largest international exhibition in its category. CWIEME Chicago was added in 2008 and takes place biennially. This was followed by CWIEME in India in 2009 which moved from Mumbai to Bangalore in 2012. CWIEME Shenzhen is the latest addition which was launched as a joint venture with VNU Exhibitions in 2012.

Friday, September 07, 2012

Netsun launches B2B payment platform

News this week: China’s e-commerce service provider, Zhejiang Netsun, announced the launch of its B2B payment platform, SinoPay.com. According to Netsun, the company invested US$16 million in its subsidiary company for the development of SinoPay.com.

Netsun will initially launch SinoPay.com on its own B2B platforms, including B.toocle.com and Smallpin.com. In the second phase of the launch, the company plans to expand its service to other major industry platforms across China. Netsun cited the Chinese government’s 12^th Five-year Plan where e-commerce transaction value is projected to exceed US$2.8 trillion by 2015, of which US$2.4 trillion will be generated from B2B transactions.

UBM to launch IFSEC Southeast Asia in 2013

News this week: Exhibition organisers UBM Live and UBM Asia have jointly announced the launch of industrial security, fire and safety exhibition –IFSEC Southeast Asia. The show will be held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) from 11^th 13^th September 2013.

IFSEC Southeast Asia is the latest addition to the IFSEC brand of shows which also includes geo clones in the U.K., India and Africa. UBM expects the inaugural show to attract over 11,000 visitors next year.

Charlie Cracknell, event director of IFSEC, was quoted saying, “Having acquired the ASEAN M&E Show, UBM Live has taken the strategic decision to reposition its leading regional events ISF (International Security & Safety Expo Forum) and FIREC to establish IFSEC Southeast Asia as a dedicated commercial security and fire event for the ASEAN and wider Southeast Asia market in 2013.”

Reed appoints new GM for G2E

News this week: International exhibition organiser, Reed Exhibitions, announced the promotion of Mike Johnson to event director and general manager of Global Gaming Expo (G2E) Asia.

Johnson has previously worked on the G2E portfolio of events for six years, and will continue to act as director of sales and industry development for G2E Asia and G2E in Las Vegas. He will manage all of G2E and G2E Asia’s related businesses, from management of exhibition to development of conference programmes.

Reed’s senior VP Courtney Muller was quoted, “Based on his energy, expertise and wide-ranging experience, we look forward to Mike expanding on his current roles to help ensure that G2E and G2E Asia continue to be the largest and most successful trade show and conference events for gaming professionals.”

ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA moves to AWE this year

News this week: Earlier this week, ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA, Asiafruit Congress and Vitafoods Asia opened at the AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE). This is the first time ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA and Asiafruit Congress are held at the AWE. The co-located events will run from 5^th to 7^th September.

The ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA and Asiafruit Congress events are organised by Global Produce Events GmbH, a joint venture company owned by Messe Berlin GmbH. ASIA FRUIT LOGISTICA reports a 20% increase in exhibitor numbers over the previous edition. The second edition of nutraceutical ingredients event, Vitafoods Asia, is organised by Informa Exhibitions and debuted at the AWE in 2011.

Reed Japan’s cosmetics show attracts 324 exhibitors

News this week: The first edition of Japanese cosmetics trade show, COSME TOKYO, co-located with the International Cosmetics Development Expo (COSME INNOVATION), reported the attendance of 324 exhibitors and 16,936 visitors from 43 countries – up from 141 exhibitors and 9,069 visitors in the 2011 show.

Organised by Reed Exhibitions Japan, the co-located shows ran from 27^th to 29^th June at the Tokyo Big Sight exhibition centre. Products and services on display at the three-day show ranged from ingredients and packaging to finished products for the cosmetics industry.

eMedia launches electronics database and mobile app

News this week: eMedia Asia Limited, a joint venture subsidiary of B2B media company Global Sources, announced the launch of an IC and electronic components online database, DatasheetsChina.com, in partnership with SiliconExpert Technologies Inc. Reportedly the world’s largest, the Chinese-language database houses data of over 185 million ICs and components from more than 10,000 global suppliers.

In a separate report this week, eMedia Asia also announced the launch of mobile app eeWeibo to deliver online mobile content to mainland China’s electronics industry professionals. eeWeibo is a Chinese-language mobile app that filters electronics industry-specific content on Chinese microblogging platform Sina Weibo.

According to Global Sources, the launch of the new app has attracted over 10,000 active mainland Chinese engineer users in the opening weeks. Users of the app can post and respond to comments, with pre-set content channels including ‘Editor’s Recommendation’, ‘Portable Devices’, ‘Consumer Electronics’, ‘Telecommunication & Security Electronics’, ‘Industry & Medical Electronics’, and ‘Automobile Electronics’.

Asia Business Media