German MICE Giant Enters Indonesia: A Golden Opportunity for Global Trade

A new giant has entered the trade exhibition industry in Indonesia.

Koelnmesse, a German exhibition organiser managing 400,000 square metres of space in Europe, has officially established a joint venture called PT Nine Koeln Indonesia with AMARA Expo (PT Amara Pameran Internasional).

This strategic move is intended to capture the potential surge in the national Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) industry, which is projected to grow by 15 per cent this year.

Managing Director of PT Nine Koeln Indonesia, Etty Anggraeni, stated that this partnership aims to improve the quality of B2B exhibitions in the country to meet global standards.

“This collaboration represents a significant step in providing a high-quality platform and creating opportunities for Indonesian businesses to connect globally,” said Etty in a press release, quoted by Kompas.com, Saturday (16/5/2026).

Macroeconomic research shows that Indonesia, as the largest economy in Southeast Asia with stable GDP growth of 5 per cent, is a very attractive market.

According to data from the Indonesian Exhibition Companies Association (Asperapi), the value of the national MICE industry before this decade had exceeded tens of trillions of rupiah per year.

This sector has a double multiplier effect, driving the hotel, transportation, and heavy logistics sectors.

Despite its attractive valuation, the supply of international-standard exhibition space in Indonesia is very limited.

If compared to the total area of Koelnmesse’s exhibition space in Cologne, which reaches 400,000 square metres, the total capacity in Indonesia does not even reach a third of one exhibition complex in Europe.

This imbalance in the supply of exhibition space often forces international promoters to compete for schedules a year before the event begins.

The shortage of exhibition space has a direct impact on the accumulation of trade fair schedules in certain periods.

PT Nine Koeln Indonesia confirmed that it will hold four large-scale international exhibitions simultaneously in September 2026, namely the 2nd edition of interzum jakarta (24–27 September), International Hardware Fair Indonesia (24–27 September), IFFINA+ powered by IMM Cologne* (24–27 September), and IFMAC WOODMAC (23–26 September).