The organisers of international trade event, CommunicAsia, are expecting a bumper crop of exhibitors in Singapore this week, despite stiff competition for corporate sponsors from ITU Telecom World in Hong Kong this December. Singapore Exhibition Services said exhibitor levels for the event which starts today and concludes on Friday, reached 2,339 companies from 67 countries, including 193 firms from China. 'That exhibitor number is up about 8 per cent from last year's show and is a new record,' said president Stephen Tan. 'But it has not been an easy year for us. A number of firms had to split their budgets between CommunicAsia and the ITU event in Hong Kong.' Mainland authorities have backed the marketing for ITU Telecom World, a triennial show under the UN body the International Telecommunications Union. It will be staged at the AsiaWorld-Expo centre in Chek Lap Kok on December 4 to 8. CommunicAsia, which has the EnterpriseIT and BroadcastAsia shows under its wing, has a series of satellite events attached to it to attract more participants. These include the invitation-only Ministerial Forum on Information and Communication Technologies, the European Commission-financed Euro-Southeast Asia 2006 Information and Communication Technologies Forum and the Asia-Pacific Telecommunity Forum. Mr Tan said projections made by about 17,000 pre-registered visitors indicated they had combined funds worth US$4.5 billion for potential deals at the four-day event with more than 60,000 visitors expected. 'We also have a number of major global companies returning to our show this year and 30 national pavilions,' Mr Tan said. That group is led by Microsoft, Samsung Electronics, Motorola, Ericsson, Sony Ericsson, LG Electronics and Siemens. Flag-bearers from China include communications equipment makers Huawei Technologies and ZTE. Taiwan has about 114 participating firms, while Hong Kong has 90 firms signed up. Victor Wong, project director for CommunicAsia, said the event has for many years been 'a one-stop platform' for Chinese firms to pursue international partnerships. Communications equipment vendor Shenzhen Powercom, for example, has credited the event with helping it secure partnerships. 'We are able to network extensively with renowned industry counterparts,' said You Zheng-yu, international sales director at Shenzhen Powercom. Singapore has 373 firms taking part in the shows under CommunicAsia which has about 62,000 square metres of exhibition space at Singapore Expo. The technologies and issues being showcased at the event include interactive digital entertainment, next-generation networks, voice over internet protocol, WiMax and 3G services. Mr Tan expects discussions on these issues to carry over to ITU Telecom World. Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology Joseph Wong Wing-ping recently said about 900 exhibitors and 60,000 visitors would attend Telecom World and bring in about $900 million for the tourism and business sectors. Hong Kong trumped perennial host Geneva's bid to stage Telecom World by guaranteeing Chinese firms would occupy a minimum of 20,000 square metres of space. Face-off Number of visitors for Singapore event up 8pc, a new record HK expects 900 exhibitors and 60,000 visitors for ITU Singapore has 373 exhibitors and also expects 60,000 visitors
