Messe Dusseldorf to establish Bangkok office as part of Southeast Asian network expansion
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Messe Dusseldorf, the world's leading trade fair organiser, plans to set up an operation in Bangkok in order to expand its service network in Southeast Asia.
The German company is currently studying the legal framework for establishing a local unit. If successful, it will be Messe Dusseldorf’s second operation in Southeast Asia, the other being its regional office in Singapore, Messe Dusseldorf Asia managing director Gernot Ringling told The Nation.
There would be no problem having two key offices in the region, he said, adding that the Singapore office was operated to enjoy tax-haven status, besides being responsible for carrying out a number of important tasks.
The company is a full-service exhibition organiser, which specialises in events covering machinery and plant engineering, medical and health, trade and services.
It gained a foothold in Southeast Asia in 1995, and started expanding its service to Thailand in 1998.
Having an office in the Kingdom will enable the company get even closer to the region’s markets, where are being combined as a single market when the Asean Economic Community (AEC) is implemented in 2015, Ringling said. Thailand will play a key role in Messe Dusseldorf’s business expansion across the region.
The regional MD said Bangkok had a strong infrastructure as a regional hub for the MICE (meetings, incentives, conventions and exhibitions) sector.
Compared to Singapore, Thailand clearly offers more reasonable prices in the hospitality business, along with many tourism locations for MICE visitors to enjoy after they have finished their work. The government also plays a supporting role in promoting the MICE sector, he added.
Meanwhile, Thailand still has a solid industrial manufacturing base in many fields, including plastics, packaging, printing, wire and medical. The country is also a crossroads location for companies wishing to become more internationally recognised, he said.
Thailand and Indonesia are both markets with good potential for the company. However, Ringling acknowledged that although there would be many opportunities in the AEC market, doing business across the region was not easy as the business climate from country to country is quite diverse, and even unstable in some nations.
He cited Myanmar as an example of a country where there is uncertainty about investment regulations, while in Vietnam, although the economy has been growing fast, government policy on foreign direct investment has often changed as well.
The company’s business model has to be adapted for such a local environment but, when compared to Thailand, Vietnam has stepped up to a higher level in terms of doing business and the ease of foreign investment, he said.
Achieving success in each market will take time, as the company needs to build a foundation with local partners and, most importantly, trust plays a key role in doing business in the region, he added.
This year and next, Messe Dusseldorf Asia will organise 14 trade fairs in the region, in Singapore, Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City and Jakarta. Six of them will be held in Bangkok, which hosts five this year alone.
During April 3-6, the company will hold the “4th Thai International Plastics and Rubber Exhibition (TIPREX)” in a joint operation with the Thai Plastic industries Association and the Federation of Thai Industries’ Plastic Industry Club.
It is the biggest trade fair in Southeast Asia, and is held every two years. More than 250 exhibitors from 21 countries will exhibit their new plastic and rubber technologies, innovative manufacturing and processing applications.
Regionally, the event has gained in popularity in recent years. In 2011, there were 10,486 visitors from 55 countries, while this year’s attendance is projected at 20,000, with 25 per cent of them from abroad.
In 2011, 85.5 per cent of the visitors were Thai.
