Seven HKTDC Autumn Fairs Attract Record 195,000+ Buyers

14 November 2018 – Seven trade fairs organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in October and November attracted close to 9,700 exhibitors, among which more than 7,200 were from the Chinese mainland and overseas – an increase of 2% compared to last year. A record-breaking number of more than 195,000 buyers from 180 countries and regions attended the seven fairs, up 2.3% over last year. Among them, over 123,000 buyers were from the mainland and overseas, up 6% on 2017.

The seven fairs were: the Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Autumn Edition), electronicAsia, the Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Autumn Edition), the Hong Kong Optical Fair and the Hong Kong International Wine & Spirits Fair, which were all held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre (HKCEC), and the Hong Kong International Outdoor and Tech Light Expo and Eco Expo Asia, held at AsiaWorld-Expo.

The big influx of mainland and overseas exhibitors and buyers attending the fairs boosted demand in the hospitality, catering and other industries related to meetings, incentives, conferences and exhibitions (MICE) in the city. According to the Hong Kong Tourism Board’s latest survey, per capita spending of overnight MICE visitors averaged HK$8,563. Based on this figure, it is estimated that the buyers and exhibitors visiting the seven fairs generated close to HK$1.2 billion in income for Hong Kong’s tourism and related industries.

HKTDC Offers Three Measures to Support Hong Kong Industries
The HKTDC commissioned an independent research agency to conduct on-site surveys on market prospects and product trends, gauging the views of 1,701 exhibitors and buyers at the Autumn Electronics Fair, Autumn Lighting Fair and Outdoor and Tech Light Expo. As Sino-US trade friction continues, 57% of respondents expected that the dispute would have a negative impact on export performance, while 48% of respondents were pessimistic about the trade issues between China and the United States being resolved.

HKTDC Deputy Executive Director Benjamin Chau said: “In the midst of the ongoing Sino-US trade dispute, the HKTDC is strengthening its services to help companies in various industries diversify their business. First, we are helping companies expand in overseas markets by organising more non-US overseas buying missions to visit and source at our Hong Kong fairs, arranging for more Hong Kong companies to participate in overseas trade fairs and site visits, and conducting overseas promotional activities. Second, we organise seminars, workshops and publish through our websites to provide the latest business and market intelligence. Third, we are working to provide more business-matching services at exhibitions to help industries capture business opportunities.” Mr Chau added that through the HKTDC’s concerted efforts, the number of US buyers visiting the seven trade fairs still registered an increase of 1% compared to 2017, “despite the various market uncertainties”.

The seven autumn fairs drew more than 123,000 mainland and overseas buyers to Hong Kong, over 90,000 of which were from Belt and Road countries, marking a significant growth of 16% year on year. Exhibitors and buyers alike agree that trade fairs can help them expand into overseas markets.

Participating in the Autumn Electronics Fair, Dickson Lee, Sales & Marketing Manager, Tronico Technology Company Limited, said, “We want to promote our brand and look for distributors and business partners through the fair. This year, we have met with more customers than last year. Buyers from Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand are interested in distributing our smart home solutions. Meanwhile, buyers from the Chinese mainland, India, Pakistan and the US want to integrate our smart home technology with solutions provided by other companies.”

The survey also found that 1,080 respondents engaged in the e-tailing business believed that trade fairs (90%), online trading platforms (78%) and social media (72%) are effective platforms to look for new suppliers. Some 93% of responding buyers said they sourced fewer than 1,000 items per order. In view of the keen demand for e-tailing and small orders, the hktdc.com Small Orders zone was set up at the Autumn Electronics Fair to feature more than 360 showcases with over 3,600 products for buyers to source in minimum quantities of between five and 1,000 pieces, generating 22,000 business connections in total. In addition, the hktdc.com Small Orders online transaction platform (http://smallorders.hktdc.com/) features more than 12,000 suppliers with close to 120,000 products, which has generated more than 3 million business connections to date, assisting Hong Kong companies to explore global e-tailing opportunities and expand in overseas markets.

Fairs Promote Market Intelligence Exchange, Business-matching Opportunities
Various seminars were organised during the trade fairs to explore the impact of the trade friction and economic uncertainty on industries, and unveil the latest trends and opportunities to help buyers and exhibitors keep abreast of market developments. Ivy He, Sales Manager, Foreign Trade Department, Shanghai Shuncom Smart Technology Co., Ltd, which exhibited at the Outdoor and Tech Light Expo, said: “I am happy to see that the Expo was packed with visitors. We had negotiated with one Russian streetlight buyer who may order 10,000 units of smart street lights and related lighting controllers respectively. Our company also got the chance to share our views on the future of smart street lighting in the symposium titled “Disruptive Smart Road Lights – Are you there yet?”. Most of the audiences attended were serious buyers who came to have exchanges with us after the symposium and even visited our booth for further business discussions.”

The HKTDC also launched the HKTDC Marketplace App for traders to gather the latest market intelligence, form partnerships and develop their business. To encourage suppliers to use online-to-offline (O2O) promotion, the HKTDC has enhanced the sourcing function of its trade fair websites by launching the year-round “Exhibition Online” platform. Apart from featuring fair updates and the latest industry information, it allows suppliers to connect with worldwide buyers anytime, while buyers can source industry-specific products from dedicated fair websites. This helps to prolong the sourcing cycle by extending the physical exhibition to an online platform to facilitate business discussions between suppliers and buyers beyond the fair period.

The HKTDC also provides business-matching services to help buyers look for exhibitors with relevant products and services to develop business partnerships. Irwandy Tan, a buyer from Australia participating in the Autumn Electronics Fair, said, “With the help of the HKTDC business-matching team, I have found six potential local and overseas suppliers of security products, smart home systems and air purifiers and bought samples of car cameras, air purifiers, humidifiers, PCB repair equipment and night light with motion sensor. I plan to buy two to three containers of products from them.”

New Trends: Smart Homes and eSports
On the market performance of different regions, the survey showed that under the Sino-US trade friction, respondents optimistic about the North America market has dropped significantly from 78 per cent last year to 53 per cent. For traditional markets, Japan (77%), South Korea (75%) and Western Europe (69%) appear to be the top regions with strong growth potential, where the expectation for South Korea’s growth increased most significantly, up 13 per cent year-on-year. As for emerging markets, the industry was most optimistic about the prospects of the Chinese mainland (76%), the Middle East (71%) and ASEAN countries (71%).

The survey at the Autumn Electronics Fair showed that the industry expects audio visual products (17%) and mobile device accessories (8%) have increasing growth potential, both up 5 per cent over last year. In view of the growing global trend of eSports, the related products and equipment (9%) are also expected to grow. 79% of respondents were optimistic about the Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) products in the next two years, in which mobile games (57%) is seen to have the most growth potential.

As for the lighting industry, LED lighting (28%) remains as the industry’s favourite product category. Under the smart home trend, 21% of respondents believed smart lighting systems controllable by Wi-Fi and smartphones would have market potential, up 14 per cent over last year, while household lighting and lighting with energy-saving purpose were the applications most anticipated by the industry.

Survey summary:

Media Enquiries
Please contact the HKTDC's Communications & Public Affairs Department:

Natalie Wong      Tel: (852) 2584 4472                  Email: natalie.hy.wong@hktdc.org
Joshua Cheng     Tel: (852) 2584 4395                  Email: joshua.cp.cheng@hktdc.org

To view press releases in Chinese, please visit http://mediaroom.hktdc.com/tc

About the HKTDC
Established in 1966, the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) is a statutory body dedicated to creating opportunities for Hong Kong’s businesses. With 50 offices globally, including 13 on the Chinese mainland, the HKTDC promotes Hong Kong as a platform for doing business with China, Asia and the world. With more than 50 years of experience, the HKTDC organises international exhibitions, conferences and business missions to provide companies, particularly SMEs, with business opportunities on the mainland and in international markets, while providing business insights and information via trade publications, research reports and digital channels including the media room. For more information, please visit: www.hktdc.com/aboutus.