These facts were highlighted at the recent electronicAsia exhibition and Hong Kong Electronics Fair, jointly held from 13 to 16 October in Hong Kong. The Electronics Fair - now in its 27th year and the largest of its kind in Asia, second largest in the world - showcases consumer electronic products, while electronicAsia - in its 11th edition - focuses on electronic components and manufacturing.
Organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) in conjunction with Munich International Trade Fairs, the shows continue to attract record numbers of exhibitors and visitors every year. The Electronics Fair this year featured 2486 exhibitors compared to 2481 in 2006. As might be expected, three countries dominate the exhibitor figures: Hong Kong was represented by 1475 companies, the Chinese mainland by 544 and Taiwan by 321. However, the inclusion of several companies from throughout Europe, the US and Australasia make this a truly international event.
By comparison, electronicAsia is significantly smaller, with the number of exhibitors increasing from 540 in 2006 to 556 this year. Once again, Hong Kong, the Chinese mainland and Taiwan make up the majority, with a sprinkling of other countries making up the numbers.
Highlighting the massive popularity of the shows, the HKTDC has plans to expand capacity to include another 1000 booths in 2009, with the waiting list for these additional booths already over-subscribed.
The visitor figures tell a similar story, with the Electronics Fair seeing just short of 60 000 visitors pass through its doors, 525 of these from Africa and 284 from South Africa.
ElectronicAsia hosted nearly 13 500 visitors over the four days, including 352 from Africa, 196 of those from South Africa. Amongst the South African visitors, there was a healthy mix of manufacturers looking for both suppliers of high quality components and reliable manufacturing contractors, and distributors seeking opportunities to bring new electronic components and products into the South African marketplace.
In terms of what was on show, electronicAsia featured components of all descriptions, shapes and sizes - from passives through power electronics to production equipment, with optoelectronics being a strong focus following worldwide trends. What there was not much of was innovation, but then that is not really what the Hong Kong industry is about. Without the R&D budgets of their Japanese, US and European counterparts, this market focuses on producing components cheaply, in massive quantities, and to high standards of quality. Of course OEM is a major part of the industry as well, and with mainland China snapping at its heels in this arena, Hong Kong companies are focusing their efforts on providing value-adding services to their customers in order to differentiate themselves.
The consumer-centric Electronics Fair showcased several innovative applications of new and existing technologies, as well as improved and miniaturised versions of tried and tested product applications. Among the highlights were: Microdia's launch of a 32 GB CompactFlash memory card with 45 MB per second read/write speeds; Tecsun Electronics' device which converts normal radio signals to digital, obviating the need to invest in digital audio broadcast equipment; HIP HK's microwave with integrated video screen and DVD player in the door; and Clover Display's changeable-colour LCD.
With an electronics market comprising half of Hong Kong's total exports in 2006, given the HKTDC's expansion plans, and boasting fantabulous company names like the uplifting Luck Sky, the erotic On Lap Home Appliances, the trust-inspiring Great Honest, the hopeful Wish Technologies and the cryptic Both Harvest Technology, electronicAsia and the Hong Kong Electronics Fair can only continue to grow in status as two of the leading international electronics trade fairs.
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