A really great team!

BSG gets its own Facebook page

Having teenagers keeps you young....which is why BSG now has its very own Facebook page. We're trying this all out to try to work out whether it's relevant to our business or to our clients'. We'll be keeping everybody posted.

BSG quoted in Global Sources earnings call

Thanks for Global Sources CEO Merle Hinrichs for quoting us during yesterday's conference call with analysts reviewing the company's Q3 results. He said:

According to the BSG, a Hong Kong based Consulting Company, Global Sources is now the second largest Trade Shows organizer in Hong Kong after just two years in the business in Hong Kong.

He was quoting from our report on the South China exhibitions industry which was distributed last month to subscribers to BSG's Asia Business Media Tracker service.

BSG mentioned in Folio article

Many thanks to Plastic News' Bob Grace for mentioning us in his interesting interview with Folio on e-publishing in China. The article says:

Plastics News took a digital-only approach for two reasons: one, the Chinese government requires foreign publishers to partner with a Chinese publisher on all print ventures (but not digital); and two, distributing a print news publication in a country the size of China would have been both prohibitively expensive and inefficient. “We wanted to try to sidestep or postpone that and get our brand known. We do breaking news and our Web site turned us into a global news service,” says Robert Grace, editor and associate publisher.

Crain executives took some initial trips to China and met with publishing consultant Paul Woodward of BSG Asia. They also contacted trade associations and asked the Chinese customers of their Western customers if they’d be willing to share marketing lists.

Thanks Bob!

The article mentions that you don't need a Chinese partner for e-publishing ventures which isn't quite true. If you want to locate a web site on servers in China, then the restrictions on foreign-owned publishing are similar to those for print (although with different regulators). If you publish in Chinese from outside China, however, it's perfectly feasible to go it alone.

BSG caught up in Ali-frenzy

A number of press reports have picked up quotes on us today including:

Associated Press: "It's a great company. But it's very much a proxy for China, the Internet and the appeal of its founder, Jack Ma, and (the price) has nothing at all to do with the business fundamentals put on the table," Paul Woodward, business media consultant at Business Strategies Group, which values the entire business-to-business market in mainland China at $1.41 billion.

BSG releases to report to susbcribers

PRESS RELEASE

Comprehensive report on Alibaba.com comments on market value and competition

Hong Kong, 5^th November: A report just published in Hong Kong provides unique analysis of Alibaba.com, the divisions of the Alibaba Group to be listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange on 6^th November. The report has been researched and written by the only consultancy in Asia specializing in B2B media, information and events, Business Strategies Group Ltd. (BSG).

Alibaba.com is the B2B division of the Alibaba Group. When its stocks start trading on the Hong Kong market, it will be valued at some US$8.8 billion – almost five times BSG’s estimated total size of the China B2B media market in 2007. BSG’s estimates the total B2B media marketplace in mainland China including exhibitions, online and magazines in 2006 was US$1.41 billion. This market is growing rapidly at 25 – 30% a year, but despite the strong growth, Alibaba.com’s IPO still values the company at several times the total market size.

BSG Principal, Paul Woodward, commented “there is justifiably a huge amount of interest in Alibaba. It’s an exciting company and combines some of the most interesting aspects of China and the Internet. However, there hasn’t so far been too much effort to place the parts of the company being listed in the context of the market in which they operate. It’s not the general Internet business being listed here, but the B2B media operations. That’s not the same thing and careful comparisons are required”.

The report includes a detailed comparison with Nasdaq-listed Global Sources, Alibaba.com’s most direct competitor among B2B media companies. It also describes possible strategies that BSG’s consulting team believes Alibaba.com will pursue in order to justify the huge valuation given by the market to the company at the time of its IPO.

The report BSG has produced was distributed on 2^nd November to subscribers of its Asian Business Media Tracker service. It is also available for purchase on a stand-alone basis.

ENDS

Global Sources quotes BSG report

The following press release has just been issued by Global Sources. It's not on their web site yet although I imagine it will be shortly:

Global Sources Now Second-Largest Trade Show Organizer inHong Kong– BusinessStrategiesGroup Report

Growth driven by China Sourcing Fairs: Electronics & Components, Gifts & Home Products, Fashion Accessories and Underwear & Swimwear

HONG KONG, Nov. 1, 2007 – TheBusiness Strategies Group trade show market report shows Global Sources (NASDAQ: GSOL) is the second-largest trade show organizer in Hong Kong, with a 14 percent market share.

This news comes as Global Sources (http://www.globalsources.com) closes its biggest yet China Sourcing Fairs: Electronics & Components, Fashion Accessories, Underwear & Swimwear and Gift& Home Products shows at AsiaWorld-Expo in Hong Kong with over 7,500 booths.

Global Sources’ Chairman and CEO, Merle A. Hinrichs, said: “We are delighted with the findings of the Business Strategies Group report. Becoming the second biggest show organizer in Hong Kong, having just operated in the market since 2006, is a dramatic testament to the success of the China Sourcing Fairs and to the trust and support we have established over the years with our buyer and supplier communities.

“Our exhibitors appreciate the quality of the buyers who attend the China Sourcing Fairs and, likewise, buyers value the quality of the suppliers they meet. And clearly, the convenience of Hong Kong and AsiaWorld-Expo has supported our exciting growth.

“Beyond this, the combination of our online, print and trade show services gives Global Sources a major advantage. Export suppliers have three primary marketing objectives: lead generation; branding and differentiation from competitors; and getting face-to-face with buyers to negotiate and win orders. We believe that the China Sourcing Fairs have grown so rapidly because Global Sources helps suppliers achieve all three objectives.”

Growing Share of Hong Kong’s Expanding Trade Show Sector

The Business Strategies Group report entitled ‘Profile of the South China Exhibitions Market’, published in September 2007, shows that Hong Kong’s trade show industry experienced strong growth in 2006 attracting 62,000 exhibitors – up 50 percent from the previous year – and 5,200,000 visitors.

The report cited primary reasons for industry growth as “the successful opening of AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE), the emergence of Global Sources as a serious competitor in Hong Kong’s exhibition industry and the existence of significant untapped demand from exhibitors.”

The report adds that “the opening of AWE added over 66,000square meters of space and Global Sources was able to successfully fill it with its China Sourcing Fairs during peak periods in April and October.”

Global Sources plans to further expand its Hong Kong China Sourcing Fair portfolio with the launch of specialized shows for Gifts & Premiums and Home Products in 2009.

In total, Global Sources will organize eight China Sourcing Fairs in Hong Kong in 2008 and nine Fairs outside the region in other rapidly growing exhibition markets of Shanghai, Dubai and Mumbai.

Specialized Global Sources Trade Shows, Websites and Magazines

The China Sourcing Fairs are an important part of Global Sources’ sourcing and product information services, which include Global Sources Online (http://www.globalsources.com), Global Sources trade magazines and Global Sources Direct (http://www.globalsourcesdirect.com).

Further information about Global Sources is available at http://www.corporate.globalsources.com.