Domestic buyers are turning up in droves. But for the first time, even non-ASEAN countries, including France, South Korea and Japan, are making their presence felt at the event. While existing members Thailand, Malaysia, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and Burma have even rented out entire exhibition halls to give them the space to showcase what they have to offer.

Organizers say there is some impact from the world financial crisis, but booked-out booths have actually hit a new record at more than 3,850 surpassing earlier predictions.

(CCTV October 21, 2008)