Archive for October, 2007
« Previous EntriesIs the events business taking the air travel threat seriously?
Wednesday, October 31st, 2007One key take-away from both the UFI and ICCA meetings from which I’ve just returned: the business events industry (exhibitions, conventions, conferences and other meetings) is only waking up to a huge threat very slowly. Reed Exhibitions’ Nick Forster mentioned it at UFI and the Pacific Asia Travel Association’s Peter de Jong at ICCA: it’s […]
To a friend and colleague
Tuesday, October 30th, 2007An announcement has just been made which leaves the world in which I work a much poorer place. My friend and colleague, Briac Le Mouël, from UFI in Paris has died suddenly and expectedly.
Briac, just 37, was Operations Director of UFI and closely involved in all aspects of its work. A man with a lively […]
Strange goings on in B2B
Monday, October 29th, 2007I don’t have this blog properly set up for guest bloggers but, I’m going to post this message I received from my colleague Mark Cochrane on that basis. To describe this news as strange would have to be the understatement of the week:
Kenfair started trading again this morning. The share swung wildly from HK$1.96 […]
Contrary views on Alibaba
Saturday, October 27th, 2007Once the IPO is obviously a cracking success, it seems to be becoming increasingly de rigeur to post clever-clever dumps on Alibaba. However, the China Law Blog is always workth reading and I would commend this post to you titled “I Hate Alibaba (The Website, Not the Company)”. The basic theme is thus:
But then I […]
Asia = 36.9% of world Internet users
Saturday, October 27th, 2007The World Internet Usage Statistics website provides several layers of fascinating dipping. It signaled an update to me today and, sitting in an airport lounge in Munich provides the rare leisure for poking around.
Things that caught my eye include:
There are now 1.24 billion Internet users around the world;
Over 459 million of them - 36.9% - […]
Versailles, Pattaya and Internet advertising in China
Saturday, October 27th, 2007…is there a connection? There is if you’re me. Despite the best efforts of striking Air France crew to keep me here, I am heading from the UFI Congress in Versailles to the ICCA Congress in Pattaya where I’m speaking on Monday.
ICCA represents an important and quite different slice of the business events pie - […]
Will Alibaba break the HK$ peg?
Thursday, October 25th, 2007“Probably not” is the answer, but it’s remarkable that the question is being asked. The Wall Street Journal is measured in its coverage of how the Hong Kong Monetary Authority just purchased US$100 million to steady pressure on the peg, set at HK$7.80 = US$1 since 1983. The article notes:
The Hong Kong dollar has been […]
In Versailles
Wednesday, October 24th, 2007I feel a million miles away from the frantic scramble for Alibaba.com IPO forms having arrived here in France this morning. Striking train drivers meant the 40km on the road from the airport to Versailles to 1 hour and 40 minutes which is a bit pathetic but the day is crisp and clear and the […]
Let’s not be immature about all this
Tuesday, October 23rd, 2007Go to the back of the class and face the corner all those of you who turned straight to the back of the Alibaba.com prospectus to find out how much the Directors earned (page I-29 if you haven’t looked yet). Surely there’s more important information near the front.
My colleague Mark Cochrane is beavering his way […]
And, hey, they’ll have even more to spend
Sunday, October 21st, 2007Relying as we continue to do on unconfirmed sources, we now learn from Bloomberg thinks Alibaba has raised its price. The report says:
Alibaba.com Corp., will sell shares for HK$12 to HK$13.5 apiece in Hong Kong, said the people, declining to be identified before a public statement. The shares were initially marketed at HK$10 to HK$12.
If […]