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UBM Asia's June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair Sees Big Increase in Mainland China and Emerging Market Visitors

Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair
2009-07-15 17:14 938

September Fair on track to be world's biggest jewellery tradeshow

HONG KONG, July 15 /PRNewswire-Asia/ -- The June Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair concluded on a high note on 21 June with 16,685 visitors from 100 countries and 1,100 exhibitors from 30 countries. Visitors from key emerging markets such as China, Russia and Brazil soared by 20.1, 17.2 and 14.3 percent respectively. Strong domestic demand from China ensured the mainland was the largest source of visitors, other than the 9,018 visitors from Hong Kong itself, with 2,802 visitors. Mainland China was followed by the Philippines (450), India (396), Taiwan (356), the United States (354), Japan (345), Korea (295), Australia (292), Thailand (292), Singapore (209) and Indonesia (202).

Organised by UBM Asia, a subsidiary of United Business Media, the 22nd edition of Asia's largest and most important international mid-year jewellery event took up 40,000 square metres of exhibition space at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre with over 2,000 booths. National or group pavilions representing Antwerp, mainland China, Italy, Japan, Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, the United States and Malaysia all had a prominent presence at the Fair, alongside seven themed pavilions featuring fine jewellery, diamond, pearls, gemstones, silver jewellery, tools, equipment and packaging and the newly launched Hong Kong Premier Pavilion.

Exhibitors were pleased with the results at the Fair. Ardis Chan, international sales manager of TTF Studio in China said: "We've been taking part in the June Fair for three years now. This year, we met some of our existing buyers from Europe and new buyers from Asia." Keisuke Nemoto of Royal Trading Co Ltd in Japan said: "We've been taking part in the June Fair for 10 years. We did pretty well at the fair. We met our target buyers and received new orders." Deepak Sharma, general manager of Sterling Ornaments Pvt Ltd in India commented: "We made contacts with many potential buyers such as those from the US, Germany and Panama. We are satisfied with the results." Addy Wong, managing director of Waddy Jewellery Group in Hong Kong said: "We've been taking part in this Fair for many years and we are glad to have joined the Hong Kong Premier Pavilion which helps us to better present our brand." They all confirmed that they would return next year.

Visitors to the Fair also found their trips fruitful. Vishal R Shah, partner of DI-VIR in India said: "We've visited this Fair for more than ten times to meet existing suppliers and find new suppliers. I am impressed with the variety of products and the high-quality services." D.V. Rao, president of Atlantic Diamond Company in the United States said: "We came here to source diamonds and gemstones from around the world. We placed orders with some exhibitors. We find the Hong Kong Fair an excellent place for sourcing. The Fair is well organised." M M Hughes, company secretary of Hughes Organisation Ltd in the United Kingdom commented: "We visited this Fair many times and this time we came to source finished jewellery and packaging products. The Fair is a truly international jewellery event and the products are of excellent quality." Therese Jackson, owner of Verity Showcase Jewellers in Australia said: "We import jewellery products and this is our first visit to the June Fair. I met suppliers from different countries such as Israel and China and am satisfied with the product quality and variety. Certainly I will come again next year."

Jime Essink, President and Chief Executive Officer of UBM Asia, said: "We know the impact of the economic downturn on jewellery exhibitions held in Europe and the US so we have promoted the June Fair even harder to keep jewellery suppliers and buyers coming back and to ensure the Fair remains one of the most important international jewellery events of the year. Judging by the number of attendees and participants' response to the June Fair, we are pleased that our efforts seem to have paid off -- the global jewellery industry is picking momentum both at the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair and across Asia."

"The next edition of the biannual Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair is in September." Mr Essink continued, "The forward bookings for the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair 2009 are overwhelming. Overall the Fair will grow by 20% in size compared to last September. It will occupy 100,000 square metres at the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre (HKCEC) and AsiaWorld-Expo (AWE) in order to accommodate 3,000 international exhibitors. Not only does this mark a new record for the September Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair but it also makes it the biggest jewellery exhibition in the world in 2009 and the biggest fair ever organised in Hong Kong."

To facilitate buyers with more efficient sourcing at this big fair, a clear product sectorisation is introduced this year. The AWE will showcase loose gems, semi-finished products, equipment and packaging from 21 to 25 September, while HKCEC will showcase fine finished products from 23 to 27 September 2009. In AWE, the fair will occupy eight halls, making it 80 percent bigger than last year's event, while in HKCEC, all the halls, including its new extension will be utilised. A free shuttle bus service will run between HKCEC and AWE throughout the fair. In addition, overseas visitors will be offered a free Airport Express same day-return ticket to AWE to facilitate their travel between the Fair's venues.

Apart from the Hong Kong Premier Pavilion launched at the June Fair, the September Fair will feature two other new pavilions: Fine Gem Pavilion and International Premier Pavilion. There will also be the biggest-ever Diamond Pavilion in the world with 400 exhibitors (including AWDC pavilion from Antwerp and IDI pavilion from Israel) on over 15,000 square metres of exhibition space and the biggest-ever Thailand Pavilion with 250 Thai exhibitors.

To promote this world event to visitors around the world, UBM Asia is undertaking the biggest ever visitor promotion:

1. Online and print advertisements in over 50 jewellery trade magazines in the world

2. Regular E-newsletters and printed promotional materials sent to over 100,000 visitors in UBM's database.

3. Jewellery trade VIPs will be invited under the buyers programme from different key countries and regions

4. Active participation in different key trade fairs to promote the Fair

5. Outdoor advertising in strategic locations in Hong Kong

6. SMS messages will be sent to 30,000 trade buyers

7. Extensive free publicity coverage in global jewellery trade magazines

8. Special focus on emerging markets such as China and India

For more information, please visit the fair website at: http://exhibitions.jewellerynetasia.com/

Downloadable format of the press release is available at UBM Asia's website at: http://www.ubmasia.com

Notes to Editor

About UBM Asia Limited ( http://www.ubmasia.com )

Owned by United Business Media Limited (UBM) listed on the London Stock Exchange, UBM Asia operates in 13 market sectors with headquarters in Hong Kong. We have over 130 media products in three categories: trade fairs, print and B2B portals. As Asia's leading exhibition organiser and the biggest commercial organiser in the two fastest growing markets in Asia: China and India, we stage the leading events of their kind across Asia. Our 110 events attract an annual attendance of 30,000 quality exhibitors and 1,270,000 visitors from all over the world to meet their target business partners face-to-face for business matching and networking. We publish high-quality trade publications for 191,000 industry professionals to capture the market trends and industry news. Complementing our exhibitions and publications are round-the-clock and industry-specific online B2B portals which provide a series of online trading networks, industry news hub and sourcing and marketing platforms for the world's trade buyers and suppliers. We have over 650 staff in 15 major cities in Asia.

About United Business Media Limited ( http://www.ubm.com ) United Business Media focuses on two principal activities: worldwide information distribution, targeting and monitoring; and, the development and monetisation of B2B communities and markets. UBM's businesses inform markets and serve professional commercial communities - from doctors to game developers, from journalists to jewellery traders, from farmers to pharmacists - with integrated events, online, print and business information products. Our 6,500 staff in more than 30 countries are organised into specialist teams that serve these communities, bringing buyers and sellers together, helping them to do business and their markets to work effectively and efficiently.

For press enquiries, please contact:

Jennifer Law

Director of Communications

UBM Asia

Tel: +852-2516-1691

Fax: +852-3749-7342

Email: jenniferlaw@cmpasia.com

Source: Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair
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