Asia Business Media

Friday, September 14, 2012

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.

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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’.