Over 6,000 industry players, including retailers, brands owners, mall operators and hospitality providers, are expected to attend the Retail Asia Conference & Expo 2021, which started in Hong Kong on Tuesday. The three-day event also features forums, with industry leaders and experts discussing the trends and paths for Asia’s retail industry in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.
That Hong Kong is hosting four high-profile trade fairs over the next three days is testimony to the resilience of our convention and exhibition industry and our unwavering belief in the business, and in the value, of trade.
Paul Chan, Hong Kong Financial Secretary
Despite the effects of the pandemic, the retail industry is actively seeking opportunities to survive, and retailers strive to expand their business. While the event focuses on digital solutions such as e-commerce, online payments and security systems, it also displays new technologies, with the aim of helping retailers cope with the challenges in the new digital era.
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At the expo, EFT Payments and other e-service providers showed how they can help merchants improve their retail services through digital means.
It is estimated that RACE together with HOFEX, ProWine Hong Kong, and Natural & Organic Asia – the trade fairs running simultaneously in Hong Kong – this year will welcome over 30,000 trade buyers from the city and around the world, who will connect, source, and do business in person or online during the various events.
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“That Hong Kong is hosting four high-profile trade fairs over the next three days is testimony to the resilience of our convention and exhibition industry and our unwavering belief in the business, and in the value, of trade,” Hong Kong Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po said at the joint opening ceremony.
Chan said the Hong Kong government will fully support the speedy recovery of the industry, and has put aside a HK$1 billion (US$128 million) Convention and Exhibition Industry Subsidy Scheme for exhibition and convention organizers.
aoyulu@chinadailyhk.com