During the 3rd China-ASEAN Expo, government officials, businesspeople and journalists from China and ASEAN countries, gathered in tens of thousands in Nanning, the capital city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, to celebrate its opening and to pursue business opportunities.

 

The massive event was held in Nanning International Convention and Exhibition Center from October 31 to November 3. Covering a floor space of 80,000 square meters, the Expo accommodated 3,300 business booths in 15 themed exhibition halls offering a wide range of products and services, ranging from motor vehicles and car parts, timber and wood products, rubber and related products, electronics and electrical appliances, foodstuff processing and packaging machinery, handicrafts and agricultural produce, as well as real estate, tourism and other services.

 

Through the halls, people mingled, bargained and made deals at the booths or at tea tables. On the first day alone, 90 international cooperation projects were inked, with a total investment valued US$3.7 billion.

 

BITI'S is one of the largest footwear companies in Vietnam, with products exported to more than 40 countries in Europe, America, Asia and Australia. Nguyen The Nhan, the BITI'S branch manager, told China.org.cn that they entered the Chinese market 13 years ago, first in the southwest and spreading to the southeast and north. They are the veterans of both the first and second CAEXPO in Nanning, and this year they made a full preparation. BITI'S also attended other expos held in China, but considered this one as the best, due to its scale and internationalization.

 

Nguyen said that their company has benefited a lot from the CAEXPO. This year alone, they have received a dozen orders and Nguyen promised their attendance next year. Nanning had big changes each year, said Nguyen to the reporter with a proud smile as if he was also a resident of the city.

 

Marzell is a Philippine-based food processing company, manufacturing sausages, yakitori and chicken feet. It has been one of the Philippines' leaders in food production since its founding in 2001, when they began providing logistics support to major food processors around the world. Theresa Angelica M. Ajero, Marzell's Marketing & Business Development Manager, said that this was their first time to attend an expo in China. This expo gave them a good chance to show their products to the Chinese market and carry out market research among Chinese consumers.

 

Ajero stated that so far, Marzell had no partner in China. Instead of finding retailers, they needed a distributor in China. China has such a huge market and the Philippines is not far from China, said Ajero. Thus, China seems a perfect target market, and at the expo many Chinese companies expressed their interest in cooperation.

 

Chia Tai Group (known to the Chinese as Zheng Da Ji Tuan and globally as Charoen Pokphand Group) is a world-recognized multinational conglomerate founded by Thai Chinese. Its business has been expanded to over 20 countries and regions with over 400 subsidiaries and nearly 200,000 employees around the world. The Group's investment in China totals about US$4 billion, and 213 subsidiaries have been set up in all provinces, cities and autonomous regions except Qinghai. The total number of its employees in China exceeds 80,000, and its annual sales turnover is more than 30 billion yuan.

 

Prasertsak Ongwattanakul, president of Shanghai-based E.C.I. Group, Chia Tai Group's industrial wing, released to the reporter their business plan in China. The Group was cited as a good enterprise by the Chinese government, and it expected more business opportunities in the country, he said. Twenty years ago, China depended on foreign-capitalized companies to develop, but now, the Chia Tai Group wants to help China extend its market to ASEAN countries. Following this plan, the Group could sell China-made motorcycles to ASEAN markets, and even help their Chinese partners invest in ASEAN countries.

 

Guangxi Nanning Land Property Development Co. Ltd, founded in 1993, is a solely Singapore-funded real estate enterprise in Nanning. As a government-recommended project, "Singapore Town" has sold over 1,500 flats, with a total sale of 200 million yuan (US$25.4 million). Gan Shiji, director of Singapore Town Sales Office, said that all their buildings were furnished with necessary facilities, at good locations with convenient commuting, and their target consumers were people with medium-high income. Although based in Nanning, this was the first time for them to attend this expo, in a bid to promote their housing projects and win good reputation. There were many visitors to their booth, showing great interest in their buildings, who would likely become potential customers, according to Gan. He indicated that they had reached the company's expectation at this expo, believing that the potential market would be huge.

 

This reporter had interviews with many other exhibitors, and the general impression was that many companies from ASEAN countries have set their eyes on the Chinese market, as well as looking for Chinese products for their own markets. This reflected the main purpose of this expo. They hoped that through product and service promotion during the Expo, they were able to catch the attention of more Chinese companies and create cooperation opportunities.

 

The China-ASEAN free trade area is expected to be established in 2010, which will be the largest in the world with a total number of 1.8 billion consumers.

 

The 4th China-ASEAN Expo will be held at the same time next year in Nanning. It is hoped that the expo will be more successful with more participants.

 

(China.org.cn by staff reporter Xu Lin, November 3, 2006)