SINGAPORE’S national trade association for business events has agreed to collaborate with the local divisions of two Chinese digital giants – Alibaba Cloud and WeChat.
SACEOS (Singapore Association of Convention and Exhibition Organisers and Suppliers) signed the strategic partnerships following the two-day Singapore MICE Forum (SMF) at Resorts World Sentosa Convention Centre, themed “Wired for the Future”
Following Singapore Tourism Board’s MOU with Alibaba Group in April to drive visitor arrivals and spending, SACEOS signed another with Alibaba Cloud (Singapore) to explore collaborations on digital innovation for business events in the city state.
As part of the arrangement, SACEOS and Alibaba Cloud will explore joint workshops and seminars where participants can get hands-on exposure to Alibaba Cloud solutions, big data and AI technologies.
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As China is a significant visitor-generating market for Singapore, SACEOS will also be working with STB and WeChat, one of the most widely used Chinese social media platforms that integrates instant messaging and social payment with more than a billion monthly active user accounts.
The WeChat collaboration is aimed at increasing technology adoption to boost the overall experience for Chinese MICE visitors in Singapore.
SMF2019, which ended on July 25, brought together next-generation thinkers and disruptors in MICE and related industries. Tim Kobe, founder and CEO of Eight Inc, shared how successful design for human outcomes will deliver better business outcomes while David De Cremer, Provost chair, NUS and author of Huawei: Leadership, culture, and connectivity shared how the Chinese mobile giant’s focus on user-centricity contributed to its global success.
Singapore MICE Forum tackles event engagement
Another key focus at SMF2019 was the value and impact in rallying, building, engaging and growing communities to achieve a greater good. Adam Lyle, executive chairman, Padang & Co, and Dean Carroll, general manager at Mumbrella Asia, shared how putting community at the heart of their businesses helped build beneficial relationships.
SACEOS president Aloysius Arlando told the conference that business events were platforms created for knowledge exchange, continued conversations on collaboration and for developing solutions to industry challenges.
Arlando said meetings and events also provided platforms where business legacies were engineered.
