Amazon becomes the fourth major tech company to pull out of the world’s biggest mobile phone exhibition in Barcelona over coronavirus fears
- The tech giant blamed ‘continued concerns’ about the coronavirus outbreak
- LG , Ericsson and US chipmaker Nvidia have already pulled out of MWC 2020
- Japanese tech manufacturer Sony also pulled out of the event on Monday
- Experts are expecting a domino effect where the exhibitors continue to drop out
- Despite the contagious virus the event from February 24 to 27 will still go ahead
Amazon is the latest company to pull out of this month’s Mobile World Congress because of the deadly coronavirus outbreak.
The tech giant’s decision is another blow to one of the telecom industry’s biggest gatherings in Barcelona, which has already seen LG, Ericsson and Nvidia pull out.
‘Due to the outbreak and continued concerns about the new coronavirus, Amazon will withdraw from exhibiting and participating in Mobile World Congress 2020,’ the company said in a statement on Sunday.
Amazon had planned a significant presence through its cloud computing arm AWS, which was due to host a full-day conference track on the first day of the event.
The retailer is the fourth company to pull out of MWC, following South Korea’s LG Electronics, Swedish equipment maker Ericsson and US chipmaker Nvidia.
Japanese electronics maker Sony also pulled out of MWC on Monday, citing the ‘utmost importance on the safety and wellbeing of our customers, partners, media and employees’ in a statement.
Amazon becomes the fourth company to pull out of Mobile World Congress 2020 due to the coronavirus
Ericsson said that it would not be attending the annual event as the ‘health and safety of employees and customers cannot be ensured’, while LG said it made the decision ‘with the safety of its employees, partners and customers foremost in mind’.
According to reports, Nokia is also considering pulling out, while BT is ‘keeping its attendance under review’, according to a spokesperson.
Industry analyst Ben Wood from CCS Insight said he hoped LG’s decision last week would not cause a ‘domino effect with other companies’.
MWC 2020, which runs from February 24 to 27, will go ahead as planned, the GSMA telecoms industry association, which runs the event, confirmed on Sunday.
The GSMA also said that it would tighten health precautions to guard against the coronavirus outbreak at the event, which attracts over 100,000 visitors.
Last week it announced onsite signs to encourage its expected 100,000 attendees to adhere to hygiene recommendations and follow a ‘no-handshake policy’.
Pictured: The 2019 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. This year it will be held between 24-27 February 2020 and organisers insist it will proceed as planned
MWC 2020 SAFETY MEASURES
GSMA is putting the following saefty measures in place at MWC:
* All travellers from the Hubei province will not be permitted access to the event.
*All travellers who have been in China will need to demonstrate proof they have been outside of China 14 days prior to the event (passport stamp, health certificate)
*Temperature screening will be implemented.
*Attendees will need to self-certify they have not been in contact with anyone infected.
No visitors will be allowed to attend from China’s Hubei province, where the coronavirus outbreak started, while visitors from China must prove they have been outside the country for two weeks prior to the event, GSMA said.
‘In addition to all of the health and safety measures put in place, the Spanish health authorities, Host City Partners, other relevant agencies and the GSMA are collaborating,’ it added.
Chinese phone manufacturers Xiaomi, Huawei and Oppo, which are based in Beijing, Shenzhen and Dongguan respectively, will still be attending the event as of Monday.
A number of other technology heavyweights are also still due to appear at MWC — including Microsoft and Samsung.
Ericsson pulled out of the world’s biggest mobile phone show in Barcelona later this month, citing as its reason fears over the present coronavirus outbreak
Some 5,000-6,000 visitors typically come from China to the world’s premier telecoms industry gathering, where companies spend millions on stands and hospitality.
Chinese companies Huawei and ZTE have said they will attend, ordering China-based staff to self-isolate ahead of the event to ensure they are free of the illness, and drafting in European staff to cover for those stranded.
China raised the death toll from the outbreak to 811 on Sunday, passing the number killed globally by the SARS epidemic, while total confirmed cases of the illness reached 37,198.
The virus has spread to at least 27 countries and territories, according to a Reuters count based on official reports, infecting more than 330 people outside China.
Two deaths have been reported outside mainland China – both of whom were Chinese nationals.
More then two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in China and overseas have been postponed or hit by travel curbs and concerns about the spread of the virus, potentially disrupting billions of dollars worth of deals.
CORONAVIRUS HITS TRADE FAIRS, CONFERENCES
Over two dozen large trade fairs and industry conferences in China and overseas have been postponed or hit by travel curbs and concerns about the spread of a coronavirus, potentially disrupting billions of dollars worth of deals.
In order of scheduled or likely dates:
* Taipei International Book Exhibition, Feb. 4-9 – Billed as Taiwan’s largest annual literary event, the exhibition has been postponed to May 7-12.
* League of Legends Pro League, due to start Feb. 5: The e-sports league owned by gaming giant Tencent Holdings said it would postpone the start of its second week until further notice.
* Singapore Airshow, Feb. 11-16: The aviation leadership summit scheduled on the eve of the event was canceled. The show itself will go ahead as planned, but on a smaller scale with more than 70 exhibitors pulling out and the number of public tickets halved.
* China Commodity Markets Insight Forum 2020, Feb. 19-20: The forum held by S&P Global Platts was delayed until further notice.
* National Association of Travel Agents Singapore (NATAS) travel fair 2020, Feb. 21-23: Moved to May because exhibitors were concerned about turnout at the fair.
* Amazon pulled out of the Feb. 24-27 Mobile World Congress telecoms conference in Barcelona, El Mundo newspaper reported. U.S. chipmaker Nvidia, Swedish equipment maker Ericsson and South Korea’s LG Electronics have also withdrawn.
* China Iron Ore 2020, Feb. 25-27: The event held by Fastmarkets in Beijing has been postponed to June 30-July 2.
* East China Import and Export Commodity Fair, March 1-4:Due to be held in Shanghai, the fair usually attracts traders of garments and household goods. It was postponed until further notice.
* Malaysia’s biggest palm oil conference, the Palm and Lauric Oils Price Outlook Conference and Exhibition, or POC2020, originally scheduled for March 2-4, will be rescheduled to June 22-24.
* Marine Money China, March 3-4: Originally slated to be held in Shanghai, organizers of the meeting for shipping financiers have said that it has been delayed, likely until November.
* Food & Hotel Asia in Singapore, March 3-6: Organisers of the biennial trade show have postponed its first leg to July. The event attracted more than 80,000 attendees when it was last held in 2018.
* National People’s Congress, likely to have started March 5: China is considering delaying the annual meeting of its top legislative body, five people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
* 6th China LNG & Gas International Exhibition and Summit, Shanghai, March 4-6: Organizers said the event has been postponed until a later date this year. They are in the process of confirming the new date.
* Asian Ferroalloys, March 16-18: The conference by Fastmarkets, due to be held in Shanghai, has been postponed with no new date given.
* Art Basel Hong Kong show, March 19-21: The high-profile annual show has been canceled.
* SEMICON/FPD China 2020, March 18-30: The annual trade conference for the global chip industry in China was postponed until further notice.
* China Development Forum, usually late March: Hosted by a foundation under the State Council, the conference was postponed until further notice.
* Canton Fair, spring season from April 15: The venue of China’s oldest and biggest trade fair said it has suspended exhibitions until further notice. (Reporting by Brenda Goh, Shanghai Newsroom and Emily Chow in Shanghai, Min Zhang and Shivani Singh in Beijing, John Geddie in Singapore and Jessica Jones in Madrid Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan, Himani Sarkar, Alex Richardson and Frances Kerry)
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