“Saudi Arabia will be our primary focus this year and next,” Chia said.
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Saudi tech minister says China a ‘success story to replicate’ during Hong Kong visit
Saudi tech minister says China a ‘success story to replicate’ during Hong Kong visit
In 2022, Pico secured a contract to design and build creative light displays, and provide event management services for Noor Riyadh, the world’s largest light and art festival, scheduled from November 30 to December 16, 2023.
Chia said the company is pursuing additional contracts stemming from the festival. Pico’s clientele includes Saudi Arabian Airlines, and the company aims to explore opportunities with the Saudi Tourism Board, given the country’s growing tourism sector.
Founded in Singapore in 1969 by Lawrence Chia’s elder brother, Chia Siong Lim, Pico initially focused on sign-making. Lawrence Chia joined the company in 1986 after completing his business degree at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and led Pico to list on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1992.
Over the years, Pico expanded into trade shows, exhibition services, and brand activation and marketing.
In its interim financial report ending April 30 of this year, the company reported a 46.7 per cent rise in profit to HK$101.11 million (US$12.92 million), with a total turnover of HK$2.49 billion.
“Our first contract came from designing and branding the Duty Free shop in Abu Dhabi, referred to us by a long-term client,” Chia recalled. “Since then, our businesses in the region have been growing, and the Middle East has become a significant market for us, contributing 15 to 20 per cent of our annual revenue.”
Pico has some 2,200 employees working in 35 cities worldwide, and most of its revenues come from China, Hong Kong, Singapore and the United States.
Pico’s success in the Middle East echoes the results of a survey from the 2022 Report on Chinese Investors’ Confidence in the Middle East released by PwC China last year.
The survey invited 118 Chinese companies that do business in the Middle East to take part between March and May of last year.
It found that 66 per cent of them operate a business entity in the Middle East and report revenue from there.
Chinese investors operate throughout the Middle East, with the UAE and Saudi Arabia being the most popular markets. Some 83 per cent of the respondents said they operated a business and had undertaken market expansion activities in the former, while the figure for the latter was 73 per cent, according to the report.
The survey covered Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Egypt, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel.