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The
congress on mobile communications, which attracts more than
100,000 visitors to Barcelona, has come under scrutiny since the
World Health Organization declared the coronavirus epidemic a
public health emergency of international concern.
"We have spoken to LG and regret not to see them at this year's
MWC20 Barcelona," a GSMA spokesperson said in response to a
Reuters inquiry following the announcement by the South Korean
electronics giant.
GSMA, an industry association representing more than 750
operators and 400 companies in the broader mobile economy, added
that it saw minimal impact so far on the event, which would be
held as scheduled on Feb 24-27.
The newly identified virus, which first appeared in Wuhan late
last year, has killed nearly 500 people in China, as well as one
person in Hong Kong and one in the Philippines.
Mainland China has reported more than 24,000 confirmed cases,
while more than 150 cases have been confirmed in two dozen
countries and regions around the world.
On Wednesday China's Huawei Technologies said it would take part
in MWC as planned. "We are keeping a close eye on matters and
having to internally adjust accordingly and responsibly," said a
spokesman.
China's ZTE Corp. and mobile phone maker Oppo said they would
continue with plans to exhibit at the event while IT services
provider NEC Corp said it was pushing forward with plans to
attend for now.
In 2019 some 6% of Mobile World Congress attendees were from
China, according to GSMA's post-congress report. Most of its
attendees were from Europe, around 64%, as were about 45% of the
exhibitors.
The GSMA estimates that the Mobile World Congress boosted the
local economy by around 470 million euros ($520 million) last
year, as delegates pack Barcelona's hotels, wine and dine
contacts and pile into taxis to the sprawling Fira trade fair
ground that hosts the event.
(Reporting by Douglas Busvine, Supantha Mukherjee, writing by
Ashifa Kassam, Editing by Andrei Khalip and Philippa Fletcher)
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