In the Farthest Corners

International tradeshow professionals are very familiar with Asian exhibition giants China and Singapore, but other countries have great potential as well. Some are showing promise, with active or developing exhibitions industries. This week, Tradeshow Week focuses on three of the most interesting and potentially dynamic secondary markets in Asia: Indonesia, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Indonesia is making noise again on the international exhibition scene, and it can handle all the business it hopes to attract. The country’s major venues include the Bali Intl. Convention Centre in Denpasar, Bali, with 2,668 square meters (28,700 square feet) of exhibit space, and, in Jakarta, the Balai Sidang Jakarta Convention Center, featuring 11,000 sq. m. (118,400 sq. ft.), and the Jakarta Intl. Expo, with 26,000 sq. m. (279,800 sq. ft.).

There’s been a revival of interest in Indonesia, which has been a quiet market for quite a few years, said Paul Woodward, principal of Hong Kong-based Business Strategies Group and manager of the Asia-Pacific office of UFI, The Global Assn. of the Exhibition Industry. The country is on its way back from a period of great economic and political uncertainty, he added.

“This is in no small part due to the increased political stability in the country following the re-election of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono,” Woodward said.

Jime Essink, president and CEO of UBM Asia, added that Indonesia relies more on local consumption than exports, and consequently, it has felt less impact from the global recession than some of its Asian neighbors.

“There are a growing number of machinery tradeshows,” he said, “mostly related to machinery for automotive and electronics parts, as well as packaging and printing. Food and food processing industries are another important segment in Indonesia.”

Still, Woodward said the exhibitions market in Indonesia remains small for a country of its size, with only three large, modern venues and just two events sanctioned by UFI. Despite a population of nearly 240 million people, Indonesia remains one of Asia’s most underserved exhibition markets, ranked just 11th in Asia in terms of exhibit space sales, lower than Singapore, which is ranked ninth in the region.

“That being said, organizers are seeing renewed opportunities there, driven by political stability and reasonable economic growth over the past 10 years,” Woodward said. “UBM Asia is relaunching exhibitions there after a break of a number of years, and some of Singapore’s organizers are once more stepping up their activity in Indonesia. Opportunities exist in some areas of consumer products; natural resources; services, such as tourism and telecommunications; and transport.”

Next year, UBM Asia’s annual Food Ingredients Asia (Fi Asia), held this year in Bangkok, will take place Sept. 29-Oct. 1 at the Jakarta Intl. Expo in recognition of the burgeoning food and food ingredients market in Indonesia, Essink said.

Most of the machinery shows in Indonesia are organized by PT Pamerindo Buana Abadi, the biggest local organizer and local partner of the All World Exhibitions alliance, he added. Two other well-known local organizers are Kristamedia and Wakeni, both with machinery shows that focus on packaging, printing and food.

According to Paul Kingsen, marketing manager for Jakarta-based show organizer PERAGAexpo, a few foreign-based show organizers, such as ECMI Trade Fairs, have organized successful Indonesian tradeshows in recent years.

PERAGAexpo’s main focus has been in the textile and garment machineries segment, “but the economic recession for the past few months has affected the textile industries in Indonesia,” Kingsen said. “However, our domestic industries are gradually showing signs of recovery, and, therefore, we are going to organize the Textile and Garment Machineries Exhibition April 22-25.”

Malaysia’s exhibitions market has experienced some contraction in recent years, with a reduction in the size of exhibitions and some show postponements. But out-and-out show cancellations have been minimal and limited to smaller shows, according to Peter Brokenshire, general manager of the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

“Exhibition organizers have observed that attendance to their shows has remained strong,” Brokenshire said. “The need for exhibitions and networking has become even more crucial in the current economic environment, as organizations and their suppliers want to meet and connect with their clients even more. Exhibitions remain a vital platform for this type of exchange.”

Whatever the case, Malaysia is able to provide plenty of exhibition space. The Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre offers 9,710 sq. m. (104,500 sq. ft.) of exhibition space, and last year hosted 63 exhibitions, 84 percent of which were recurring shows and about evenly split between trade and consumer events.

The center hosted 41 percent of all exhibitions held in Kuala Lumpur, Brokenshire said. The facility is owned by KLCC (Holdings), a wholly owned subsidiary of Petroliam Nasional Berhad, and is managed and operated by Convex Malaysia, a joint venture between KLCC (Holdings) and AEG Ogden, Australia.

Other Malaysian exhibition venues include the Penang Intl. Sports Arena in Georgetown, Penang, with 3,000 sq. m. (32,300 sq. ft.), and the Putra World Trade Center in Kuala Lumpur, with 11,000 sq. m. (118,400 sq. ft.). MINES Resort City in Selangor features the Malaysia Intl. Exhibition & Convention Centre, with 16,670 sq. m. (179,400 sq. ft.). In Putrajaya, just south of Kuala Lumpur, the Putrajaya Intl. Convention Centre boasts 135,000 sq. m. of exhibition space (1.35 million sq. ft.).

Brokenshire said the most significant tradeshows serve the oil and gas industry, with the Asian Oil & Gas Petrochemical Engineering Exhibition (21,287 attendees in 2007); the medical and health care sector, with APHM Intl. Healthcare Conference & Exhibition (held for the fourth time this year with 10,746 attendees); and building and construction, with the Architecture, Interior Design & Building Exhibition (26,660 attendees this year), all held at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

“In times of crisis, consumer shows are less impacted, compared with tradeshows in terms of exhibition space and visitorship, and tended to remain consistent during the economic downturn,” Brokenshire said, noting important segments for consumer shows at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Center are information technology, with the largest exhibition held at the facility, the thrice-yearly PIKOM PC Fair, which attracts an average of 180,000 attendees; education, with Bookfest (420,000 attendees); and home decoration and furnishing, with the semiannual Home Decoration Exhibition. The October edition attracted 91,000 attendees.

There’s also been growth in high-tech shows, thanks in large part to the Malaysian government’s attempts to develop a knowledge-based economy. The government has been the driving force behind events, such as Nanotech Malaysia, the Intl. Invention, Innovation and Technology Exhibition and BioMalaysia Conference & Exhibition. There also has been an increase in the number of conferences and exhibitions involving sustainability, including the Green Design Forum, Green Building Forum & KL Design Forum and Conference on Green IT Symposium.

Brokenshire said dmg world media and Pennwell are two foreign show organizers that are active in Malaysia. Pennwell’s events at the center include Power Gen Asia and the Offshore Asia Conference & Exhibition, while dmg organized Asia Pacific Coatings Show in 2006 and last year.

Vietnam is witnessing rapid development in a handful of industries, such as electronics, information technology, hospitality, food and beverage and manufacturing. The domestic market for goods and services also continues to grow, meaning consumer tastes are becoming more sophisticated and the business community’s demand for tradeshows more pressing, according to Stephen Tan, chief executive of Singapore Exhibition Services and president of Allworld Exhibitions Alliance, a London-based association of exhibition organizers, managers and consultants.

“As a result, there is a continuous flow of foreign investment into Vietnam in spite of the global economic downturn,” Tan said. “To meet these demands, international exhibitions and conferences in Vietnam have become increasingly more important as key channels for local companies to arm themselves with the latest equipment, as well as the know-how that is available in the global marketplace.”

Vietnam’s main venues are the Tan Binh Exhibition & Convention Centre, which offers 6,438 sq. m. (69,300 sq. ft.), and the new Saigon Exhibition and Convention Center, with 40,000 sq. m. (430,500 sq. ft.), both in Ho Chi Minh City.

Woodward said, even if the exhibitions industry in Vietnam remains relatively small, it is a market regarded positively by organizers. Also, in addition to the new facilities now available in Ho Chi Minh City, there is talk of new exhibit halls in Hanoi.

“After a rough 2008, the economy has been rebounding from the middle of this year, and we’d expect to see renewed focus on Vietnam from organizers in the region,” Woodward said. “Singapore-based organizers and event services have been particularly active in Vietnam and have a strong position there.”

Singapore Exhibition Services has taken advantage of its portfolio of exhibitions elsewhere in Asia to create similar shows in Ho Chi Minh City.

“Our experience in developing and growing these regional events has enabled us to establish effective business networking platforms in Vietnam, namely MTA Vietnam and Food&HotelVietnam, with these key objectives in mind,” Tan said, “to offer local businesses an opportunity to meet overseas players at one single venue and the essential exposure to the latest range of products, equipment and technologies most popular in the overseas markets.”

He said SES is a member of the Allworld Exhibitions Alliance, which has held other exhibitions in Vietnam, catering to a diverse range of emerging and developing industry sectors, including automation industrial, building and construction, building technologies, chemical engineering and electrical engineering.

Other foreign players active in Vietnam’s exhibitions industry are Reed Exhibitions, Adsale Exhibition Services and Hannover Messe.