ORGANIZERS of the 5th China-Asean Expo (CAEXPO) urged industries in Cebu to participate in the upcoming event, which could be an access to the Chinese market.
Tang Hai, CAEXPO senior project director for the Philippines, said that five of the event’s 3,300 international standard booths have already been taken, mostly by processed food and furniture manufacturing companies in Cebu.
They are part of the 30 booths to be occupied by industries coming from the Philippines.
The marketing price of each booth, which is three meters by three meters, is $1,200. However, Hai said that if the country will be able to send at least 40 industries or more to exhibit, the organizers would be willing to give the booths for free.
“We are not aiming for money. We are here to promote bilateral trading to balance off the trade between China and Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) countries,” he explained during a press conference at the Cebu Grand Convention Center yesterday.
CAEXPO will be held in Nanning, China—the venue agreed among Asean leaders—on Oct. 22 to 25.
The event, according to CAEXPO vice-president and secretariat general He Leping, will serve as an “effective platform” to showcase products with unique country flavors, promote key cooperation projects and forge business partnerships, among others.
This year, organizers are looking at attracting more than 30,000 buyers, mostly from China. About 400,000 invitations were sent out to quality global buyers listed in the Global Purchasers Database.
Hai said that the Chinese currency, renminbi, is getting stronger, raising the buying power of the Chinese who are always “looking for something different.”
While the Chinese are thrifty, he said, they are getting richer and younger people tend to spend on new things they are interested in, such as technology and handicrafts.
“The Philippines better act fast (and join the exhibit). At least 90 percent of the booths are already sold out,” he said.
Learning from last year’s feedback from exhibitors, organizers are also arranging chartered direct flights between Nanning, China and major Asean cities two days before the event.
Major Asean exhibits will showcase electronics and electric appliances, consumer chemicals, agro-based products, foodstuff, furniture, jewelry, arts and crafts, automobile and parts, and rubber and timber products, among others.
Concurrent to CAEXPO will be the Fifth China-Asean Business and Investment Summit and the Third China-Asean Information and Communications Technology Cooperation Week.
Last year’s exhibit drew at least 34,000 participants, generated $1.42 billion in large trade volume, and produced $6.15 billion worth of investment cooperation.
source：www.sunstar.com.ph