MUMBAI: The Wuhan-originating coronavirus is leaving its impact on industry confabs in Europe and Asia.

The Mobile World Congress which was scheduled to be held from 24-27 February in Barcelona was cancelled yesterday, following the pullout by a large number of partner companies, with concerns over the spread of the viral menace. LG, Ericsson, Nvidia, Intel, Vivo, Nokia, Amazon, Sony are some of the major players who decided to give it a skip.

Chinese companies are some of the major participants in the Mobile World Congress and with many embassies in China refusing to issue visas to travellers, many of them would not have been in a postion to attend.

Keeping all this in mind, the GSMA – which organises the congress – decided to cancel it for the year.

Then the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) announced on 13 February that it would push forward the dates for its Hong Kong International Film and TV Market (FilMart) 2020 from 25-28 March to 27-29 August 2020.

“The safety and well-being of our exhibitors and participants has always been our priority,” said the HKTDC in a note sent out to participants. “The decision is made in response to the preventive measures taken by the Hong Kong SAR government and health authorities worldwide to contain the novel coronavirus epidemic. Your admission badge record will still be valid for the postponed FilMart 2020. Details will be announced later.”