Just a few months after signing a Memorandum of Understanding to establish an Asian subsidiary in Singapore, Italian Exhibition Group (IEG) has finalised the setting up of ‘IEG Asia Pte. Ltd.’. IEG now has a wholly owned subsidiary, and has also announced the acquisition of two trade shows in the jewellery and food & beverage sectors respectively. IEG made the acquisitions from CEMS - Conference & Exhibition Management Services: Sije - Singapore International Jewelry Expo and Café and Restaurant Asia.
With this operation, IEG, organiser of Vicenzaoro and Sigep, leading events held in Italy in the jewellery and food sectors, is continuing its expansion strategy into Southeast Asia, starting from Singapore.
Singapore Tourism Board has confirmed its support for IEG and IEG Asia in the development of existing events and the launch of new projects that can further strengthen the entire MICE ecosystem in Singapore.
Francesco Santa, international business development director at IEG, said: “We are delighted to confirm the partnership with STB, a guarantee of development and success for the acquired exhibitions. We would also like to emphasise how important synergies between events in Italy and those acquired are, not to mention the consequent impact generated by internationalising our exhibitions on Italian territory.”
Ilaria Cicero, the new CEO of IEG Asia, added: “The aim is to develop the shows in Singapore, also by leveraging on a mutual, productive exchange of the enormous success of the last edition of Vicenzaoro in January 2023, which was attended by over 1.300 exhibiting brands. The same can be said for Sigep with 1,000 companies exhibiting at the 2023 edition in Rimini”.
“With the dawn of the Aseanisation of the MICE industry in Southeast Asia in this decade,” said Edward Liu, managing director, Conference & Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd, “and the goals of bringing our events to the next level for Singapore and the region, we are delighted to tie up with the Italian Exhibition Group, which owns the Sigep and the Vicenza Jewellery Shows. These signature events would certainly complement our portfolio of the Café and Restaurant Asia series as well as the Singapore International Jewellery Expo (SiJE). IEG’s strategic plan to expand into the Asia region will enhance our current shows to grow at a faster pace to meet the needs of the Asian market, and this would augur well for the MICE industry in Singapore and beyond in the near future.”
Poh Chi Chuan, executive director, exhibitions and conferences, Singapore Tourism Board, added: “We warmly welcome IEG’s increased presence in Singapore and their plans to anchor renowned global events here. IEG’s plans, as well as the recent opening of its regional headquarters in Singapore, underscore how our MICE industry is firmly on the recovery trajectory. We look forward to working together to bring in new trades hows across other sectors as global business travel picks up pace.”
IEG is already active in Asia with CDEPE - Chengdu International Environmental Protection Expo, in China – a major trade show for green technologies, and with Sigep China (organised by IEG China), a show dedicated to gelato, pastry, bakery and coffee, that will be making its debut in 2023 from 10-12 May in Shenzhen, in partnership with Koelnmesse.
