China Not Only Game in Asia

By Vanessa VanderZanden -- Tradeshow Week, 4/12/2004

Any tradeshow producer looking for a way to develop an international presence knows that China is the place to be these days – but Asia is a big continent that has presented entrepreneurs with opportunities for some time. And while some locations clearly have a lot to offer, others still have a ways to go.

Singapore serves as the region's biggest tradeshow hub outside of Hong Kong. Paul Woodward, principal with consulting firm Business Strategies Group and manager of the UFI Asia Pacific Office, said both cities benefit more from their central locations and easy regional transportation access than from the strength of their local industries.

In addition, residents in Singapore speak English, as in Hong Kong, making it easier for Westerners to conduct business. For years now, Singapore has served as the window to Southeast Asia, attracting a different exhibitor and buyer base than its competitors in Hong Kong and other Chinese cities. If you want to reach buyers and sellers from the 10 countries in the Assn. of Southeast Asian Nations, Singapore offers four venues.

Cherif Moujabber, president of Creative Expos & Conferences, said the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre will draw Chinese attendees to its Summer Sourcing Show for Gifts, Houseware & Toys 2004 this July, but exhibitors must also go to the Gift Assn. VIP Day in April in Singapore to draw buyers from the ASEAN countries.

A couple of other large tradeshows held in Singapore are Asian Aerospace and the Intl. Furniture Fair Singapore 2004, which is held in conjunction with the 21st ASEAN Furniture Show. The former is held in February of even-numbered years at the Changi Intl. Exhibition & Convention Centre, and spanned 1,073,463 net square feet in 2002. The latter is held at the Singapore Expo every March, and covered 538,196 net sq. ft. this year.

Still, Cliff Wallace, managing director of the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, doesn't consider Singapore to be a serious competitive threat. Instead, his concern is nearby shows targeting the same exhibitors and buyers, rather than shows aimed at markets across the ocean.

Similarly, in the past five years Singapore has begun to feel pressure from other countries in Southeast Asia. They've begun building their own large-scale facilities that can accommodate large contingencies of exhibitors and attendees, meaning local participants are less dependent on Singapore to draw international buyers to them.

With 215,278 sq. ft., the Bangkok Intl. Trade and Exhibition Centre now boasts the largest single-level column-free exhibition hall in Southeast Asia. And the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia has 376,726 sq. ft. of exhibition space available. Now, countries like Thailand, which provides a vast market for everything from frozen food to consumer electronics, can host their own shows.

As in other parts of the world, tradeshows in Asia are often tied to the location where the show's market is strongest. For example, Bangkok's THAIFEX revolves around the Thai processed food industry and obviously could not be held anywhere else.

Bangkok has become a cheaper alternative to Singapore, much in the way that Mainland China venues are less expensive than neighboring Hong Kong. "That being said, the prime driver for show location is always going to be proximity to market," noted Woodward. "Organizers are going to put the events where the exhibitors and buyers are going to do most business and work their way around cost issues when necessary."

However, Japan and South Korea, which have large facilities and developed economies, are rarely the sites of tradeshows that draw much foreign interest. Moujabber said Japan's economy is so well-developed that it doesn't need to attract foreign investors, tending to hold shows revolving around domestic products like food, manufacturing and machinery. The same goes for South Korea, though in recent years it has become a big exporter of everything from electronic components to clothing.

In fact, recently South Korea has managed to attract a few high-profile shows, including ITU Telecom Asia 2004 this coming September. When the show was held in Hong Kong in 2002, it took up 167,863 net sq. ft. and attracted 18,677 attendees from 122 countries. Managed by the Intl. Telecommunications Union, this show is one of the largest in the world when it's held in Geneva, Switzerland every four years. It rotates around the world in other years. This year, Busan, South Korea managed to beat out Hong Kong for the Asian version.

Of the international players operating in the region, the leaders are mostly based in Europe. Big names include CMP Asia, Reed Exhibitions, Allworld, VNU and the German Messes, although a few North American operators, like E.J. Krause & Associates, IDG World Expo and PennWell, have made inroads.

According to Wallace, "North Americans are educated the least about international opportunities, whereas the Europeans always had to work outside their borders." In the future, Wallace said, North Americans need to change the way they think in order to tap into the emerging market. Not only do they have to become more educated about the markets, but they have to broaden their horizons and consider taking advantage of the prospect of holding a show so far away, he said.