Asia Business Media

Friday, May 29, 2015

Alibaba launches Korea Pavilion on Tmall.com

News this week: China’s largest e-commerce company, Alibaba Group, has announced the launch of a Korea Pavilion on its Tmall.com platform. Tmall.com’s Korea Pavilion opened on 18^th May and allows any Korean retail goods to be listed.

Tmall.com’s Korea Pavilion was introduced in a ceremony at the aT Center by Jack Ma, founder and executive chairman of Alibaba Group, and Choi Kyunghwan, Deputy Prime Minister of Korea. The Korean Pavilion has partnered with Korea Agro-Fisheries & Food Trade Corporation (aT) and Korea International Trade Association (KITA). According to Alibaba, a Korean herbal cosmetics brand was among their best-selling item during China’s Singles’ Day in November last year.

Jack Ma was quoted saying, “The Korea Pavilion is Alibaba Group’s first official country pavilion and we will continue to work with governments of other countries to launch similar pavilions in the future in order to satisfy the needs of our Chinese consumers. Korean made products have always been popular in China and we are excited to bring these products onto Tmall.com.”

This post is excerpted from BSG's weekly e-newsletter which is part of our subscription research service, BSG Tracker. Visit our website to find out more about this service. You can also follow us on Twitter for all the latest updates.

Japanese tax amendments to impact B2B online transactions

News this week: According to media reports, Japanese lawmakers are edging closer to amending the nation’s Consumption Tax Act, which taxes the majority of imported goods and domestic transactions. Currently, e-commerce transactions originating from companies registered outside of Japan are not subjected to this tax.

Lawmakers are seeking amendments to include cross-border transactions and have reportedly been passed by Japan’s National Diet. The legislation will come into effect on 1^st October this year. While there will be no levy imposed on the service provider, the buyer will instead be taxed by the National Tax Agency (NTA) – but commercial buyers will be eligible to obtain a tax credit for the fee paid.

The amended law will require e-commerce operators based outside of Japan to collect a tax from Japanese buyers on behalf of the NTA. E-commerce businesses will be required to register as an offshore service provider by July 2015 and indicate their operating capacity as either B2B or a mix of B2B and B2C similar to current regulations of the European Union.

Visitors up 28% at UBM’s Concrete Show India

News this week: UBM India, a subsidiary of UBM Asia, recently concluded the 2015 edition of Concrete Show India featuring more than 150 exhibitors from 10 countries and regions. The three-day show was held at the Bombay Convention and Exhibition Centre (BCEC) in Mumbai from 7^th to 9^th May 2015.

UBM reported attendance of 5,000 trade visitors – an increase of more than 28% over the previous edition. Overseas visitors representing the infrastructure and construction industry included those originating from China, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, the Netherlands and U.S. Highlights of this edition of Concrete Show India included an Innovation Corner and Interactive Zone.

Mr. Surya Prakash, president of the Association of Consulting Civil Engineers (India), said, “Cement and concrete industry in India is poised for a definite growth. The recent five year plan emphasize more on infrastructure as it is the basic requirement for development of any sector. India is the third largest country in the world with a massive production of 280 million tonnes and this will go to 800 million tonnes in next few years.”

Labelexpo India 2016 to relocate

News this week: International exhibition organiser, Tarsus Group, announced the 2016 edition of its Labelexpo India will relocate to another venue, the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida. The four-day show will run from 17^th to 20^th November.

The previous edition of the biennial Labelexpo India took place at Pragati Maidan from 29^th October to 1^st November 2014 occupying 4,663 m². The 2014 event also featured 147 exhibitors and 7,927 visitors. According to Tarsus, India Expo Centre is a modern open plan exhibition space situated in a good location, which will benefit both Labelexpo’s exhibitors and visitors.

Jade Grace, Labelexpo India’s event director, commented, “We are excited about our new home for 2016’s show and future editions. Pragati Maidan had very limited availability for 2016 which meant the show would have been held too close to Diwali, so by moving to the India Expo Centre we have been able to secure much better dates for 2016’s edition. With the show set to be around 25% larger in the new event space, we are very confident that its more modern and central layout will enhance the show and provide a refreshed experience for visitors and exhibitors alike.”

KEC to hold first metal industry exhibition in Taiwan

News this week: Taiwan will hold its first metal industry exhibition, International Metal Technology Taiwan, at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center (KEC) from 2^nd to 4^th December 2015. The new show will be support by the Kaohsiung City Government and is organised by Kaigo Co., Ltd.

International Metal Technology Taiwan will feature exhibitors from the entire supply chain of the metal technology sector and focus on technological innovations, foundry technology, surface treatment, heat treatment, castings, forging, molding, joint and cut technology, raw materials, wires and tubes, finished and semi-finished products and engineering.

Kaigo, founded in 1978 in Taiwan, is a key player of Taiwan’s exhibition and convention industry.

KLCC breaks ground on expansion project

News this week: Coinciding with the venue’s 10^th anniversary, expansion work on Malaysia’s Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) is officially underway. The expansion plans were first approved in February 2011.

The designated lot for expansion will comprise of mixed commercial use including an office tower, convention centre and retail podium. KLCC is located in the heart of the city’s business district. The extension will provide an additional 10,000 m² of flexible indoor space in addition to KLCC’s existing 22,659 m².

In 2014, a total of 1,759 events were held at the venue attracting more than 1.97 million delegates, an 11% increase over the 1,565 events recorded in 2013. The number of events increased from 1,565 in 2013, while delegates were up from the 1.96 million recorded in 2013.

KLCC’s general manager, Alan Pryor, commented at this year’s IMEX Frankfurt, “We are thrilled to reveal that groundwork began in late April and we expect the expansion to be completed in 2018. For many current clients the expansion will enable them to grow their activities and/or events significantly. This development will also play an important part in the future of the Centre and the events that it hosts, as such we are very happy that the announcement of the expansion coincides with our 10^th anniversary.”

Friday, May 22, 2015

Alibaba Group acquires stake in Chinese logistics company

News this week: New York-listed Alibaba Group announced the acquisition of a minority stake in the Shanghai YTO Express (Logistics) Company. Financial details were not disclosed. Both companies plan to cooperate in developing logistics solutions to improve efficiency of China’s logistics industry.

YTO Express will work closely with Alibaba’s logistics subsidiary Cainiao to enhance the industry’s logistics management capabilities as well as international and rural delivery services. Cainiao was founded by Alibaba in 2013 in partnership with a consortium of logistics companies with the aim of building a nationwide logistics platform.

Judy Tong, senior vice president of Alibaba Group and president of Cainiao, said, “The strategic investment in YTO Express reflects our commitment to improving quality and service standards in China’s logistics industry. As a platform, we look forward to working closer with partners who share our vision to develop more efficient logistic infrastructure and solutions that will drive development of China’s logistics sector in order to fully satisfy our customers’ needs.”

TTG sees positive results in Q1

News this week: Hong Kong-listed Sino Splendid (formerly China.com) has reported its first quarter results ended 31^st March 2015. Revenues were US$1.7 million, growing 14% from last year. The company attributed the growth in revenue to the increase from print advertising. Profit in the quarter was US$114,000, more than triple last year’s US$31,000. Earnings per share in the period were HK$0.0014.

The travel media business, TTG, posted a positive result in the quarter due to steady growth of revenues within the overall business. Company management highlighted TTG Travel Trade Publishing completing various print publication special projects, as well as the confirmation of several advertising contracts for TTG Guides & Maps Publishing.

HC International’s revenue and profit down in Q1

News this week: Last week, Hong Kong-listed HC International announced its results for the quarter ended 31^st March 2015. Revenues were US$34 million, a decrease of 5.5% compared with the same quarter last year. Profit in the quarter also recorded a drop falling 41% down to US$4.0 million. Diluted earnings per share in the period were RMB 0.0365 (US$0.0059).

Almost 80% of the Beijing-based company’s revenues were generated from online services amounting to US$27 million. This represents a year-on-year decrease of 12%. The second largest business segment was seminars and other services, which increased by 8.7% to US$4.4 million and accounted for 13% of total revenues. The remaining revenues were generated from the newly acquired “digital identity management business”, anti-counterfeiting products and services (US$1.8 million), and the trade catalogues and yellow page directories segment (US$718,000).

Global Sources records loss in Q1

News this week: Yesterday, NASDAQ-listed Global Sources released its financial results for the first quarter ended 31^st March 2015. Revenues were US$22.2 million, down 36% compared with US$34.5 million last year. In the same period, the company recorded IFRS net loss of US$2.1 million, compared with IFRS net income of US$145,000 in 2014. The drop in revenue was largely due to the shifting of one of the company’s major exhibitions from the first quarter in 2014 to the second quarter in 2015.

More than 80% of Global Sources’ revenues were generated from its online business, amounting to US$17.9 million. That is a drop of 16% from US$21.3 million recorded last year. Revenues from print business accounted for 9.6% of total revenues at US$2.1 million, down 17% year-on-year from 2014’s US$2.6 million. Meanwhile, exhibitions revenues slipped to US$260,000, down from US$8.9 million in the same period last year. The company attributed the decline to the shift in timing of SIMM machinery shows (Shenzhen International Machinery Manufacturing Industry Exhibition and its related shows) from the first quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015.

Global Sources’ executive chairman, Merle A. Hinrich, said, “Our first quarter results reflect the shift in timing of our SIMM machinery shows for the mainland China domestic market from the first quarter of 2014 to the second quarter of 2015. In April, we held our export-focused shows, including Global Sources Electronics, the world’s largest electronics sourcing trade show featuring a total of more than 5,500 booths.”