Industry veteran sets up new PCO business

Once the general manager of Putrajaya International Convention Centre, Oh Kin Tat is now the owner of his own PCO business, KT Conference & Events, in Malaysia.

Oh, who has a local partner, said the company is currently working on the bidding documents for two Asia-Pacific medical conferences in 2019, and an international environmental conference in 2020.

Oh: aims to be a hands-on company 

On why he decided to set up his own company, Oh said: “Malaysia has an average of 150 conferences annually, comprising national, regional and international conferences. At the same time, there is a shortage of PCOs.”

He believes the future of Malaysia’s conference industry is bright, hence his business as well.

KT Conference & Events will be a “hands-on” company that “gets into areas” most local PCOs shy away from, according to Oh.

“Many local PCOs do not get involved in (areas such as) sponsorship management, abstract reviews, and exhibition booth seeking and allocations,” he explained.

“I am willing to work closely with clients on these areas and go into sponsorship management, programme design, abstract reviews, vendor management, and liaising with the national and state convention bureaus to obtain their support for the conference. We will also assist the local host with marketing activities.”

Oh has more than two decades of experience – 13 of which were spent in hospitality, while seven were spent with two local convention centres. He was Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre’s convention & conference manager from 2012 to 2016, before becoming the general manager, sales operation at Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

In 2016, in his first year with Putrajaya International Convention Centre, he managed to achieve a surplus of RM4 million (US$1.02 million). He was then promoted to the role of general manager, where he was tasked with overseeing operational standards, and sales and marketing.

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