Exhibition products and services firm Pico Far East Holdings is looking aggressively to partner property developers to build and manage exhibition halls in Asia, according to its chairman.
Lawrence Chia Song Huat says the new strategy aims to diversify Pico's business profile, which is heavily dependent on core exhibition services and booth construction and which accounted for 70 per cent of last year's $1.71 billion turnover.
While exhibition hall management contributed only 2 per cent of revenue last year and conference and show management accounted for just 7 per cent, Mr Chia yesterday said the firm aimed to lift each segment to 25 per cent in five years.
The firm manages an exhibition hall in Chongqing, Sichuan province, which began operating in October last year and has an occupancy rate of 20 per cent.
Mr Chia said there were limited opportunities for pure management contracts in Asia because not many developers were willing to break ground to build exhibition facilities on their own.
'When the market becomes more mature, the developers will be more willing to appoint outside companies to do [exhibition hall] management,' he said, adding that Pico aimed to form joint ventures with developers in future deals.
Pico was granted a $50 million contract for the construction and management of a Xian trade fair venue earlier this year. The hall will open for business in 2008.