The "International Sourcing Exchange" physical exhibition organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), together with the online exhibition of the new exhibition model "EXHIBITION+" ("EPLUS"), was successfully concluded on 15 July, attracting more than 20,000 industry buyers to visit or browse products online, as well as through "EPLUS" Click2Match, an AI-powered business matching platform, was used to establish business connections, facilitating over 5,000 trade meetings and allowing exhibitors to communicate with global buyers.
Attracting more than 1,730 exhibitors from 12 countries and regions, the International Sourcing Hub showcased more than 83,000 products and brought together 7 major trade fairs, including Hong Kong Electronics Fair (Spring Edition), Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition), Hong Kong Gifts & Premiums Exhibition, Hong Kong Houseware Fair, Hong Kong Fashion Festival, Hong Kong International Home Textiles Fair and Hong Kong International Printing & Packaging Fair (ICCE) co-organised with Huagang International Exhibition Company Limited. The "International Procurement Hub" is carried out in a new exhibition mode "EPLUS", which extends the face-to-face interaction and negotiation in the physical exhibition to the online intelligent matching platform to help enterprises take the initiative. After the Exhibition, exhibitors may choose to continue to promote their products and services to potential buyers around the world through the hktdc.com Sourcing platform.

In this exhibition, exhibitors can actively search for buyers, take the initiative to attack and arrange meetings, and contact buyers from all over the world at any time. "As the first event to use the new exhibition model of 'EPLUS', HKTDC Vice President Zhang Shufen said, "As the first event to use the new exhibition model of 'EPLUS', we are pleased to see many exhibitors capture business opportunities online and offline 24/7 without borders, contact global buyers and facilitate order agreements. In future trade exhibitions, we will continue to use "EPLUS" to provide multi-faceted support to further assist Hong Kong companies in contacting international buyers. A number of online and offline business matching conferences to help exhibitors seize business opportunities and Liu Minyi, deputy manager of the marketing department of Jinjing Development, which specializes in the production of kitchenware, tableware and home decoration He expressed his hope to seek new local and overseas buyers through "International Sourcing Sinks". Through HKTDC's business-to-business platform, more than eight online meetings were held with overseas buyers from Brazil, Japan and the United States on the first day of the show, and with the assistance of the HKTDC's business matching team, two potential buyers from hotel groups and online boutiques were also consulted.

Lubee Chak, Brand Director at Louise Castle, who specialises in custom-made suits and accessories, said that in addition to negotiating with more than a dozen buyers at physical exhibitions, the HKTDC's business matching team arranged a number of online meetings for them to meet with buyers in Chinese mainland, Japan, Thailand and other places, all of which helped to increase brand awareness. To lay a good foundation for further expansion of overseas business.

Li Jian, general manager of Jupeng Cup Industry Co., Ltd., a manufacturer of insulated cups and sports kettles in the mainland, said that he met different buyers through the physical exhibition and held talks with about eight gift buyers from France, Hong Kong, Indonesia and the Philippines in an online conference, among which Hong Kong and French buyers expressed their interest in ordering their products, with a total order value of US$200,000. He pointed out that the International Sourcing Exchange provides an effective channel for exhibitors to find high-quality buyers and capture online and offline business opportunities.

During the physical exhibition of the on-site buyer exchange meeting, the conference has two buyer exchange meetings, which attract many industry insiders to participate, and the atmosphere of on-site negotiation is warm. Leung Ru Yan, International Sales Manager of Shanran International, a distributor and wholesaler of pet products and food, said that she hopes to further expand her product portfolio to backpacks and pet toys, as well as develop new markets such as Chinese mainland and Southeast Asia, so she is looking forward to finding new suppliers on the "International Sourcing Exchange". Under the arrangement of the EDB Business Matching Team, the company has placed an order with one of the Hong Kong suppliers to order 1,000 pet backpacks and is confident in the quality of its products.

Pang Huaxiong, Chairman of the Council of SME International Alliance, believes that the "International Procurement Exchange" exhibition provides an ideal platform for alliance members with factories in the Greater Bay Area to explore new raw material suppliers, business opportunities and partners. The Alliance also found suppliers of eco-friendly non-woven bags from Chinese mainland at the exhibition and decided to order 50,000 pieces for distribution to the Alliance.

Zhejiang enterprises hope to expand overseas markets through "International Procurement Hub"In addition, the Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce brought Zhejiang exhibitors from the gift, printing and packaging industry to the "International Procurement Exchange", which is the largest mainland pavilion in the physical exhibition, and the Zhejiang Pavilion also participated in the "Representation Exhibition" format for the first time. At the opening ceremony of the pavilion, HKTDC Vice President Zhang Shufen and Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce Deputy Director Chen Zhicheng met online, and invited Zhu Ying, Director of the Foreign Trade Development Division of Zhejiang Provincial Department of Commerce, and Zhang Shuangwen, General Manager of Huagang International Exhibition Co., Ltd Together with the ceremony and group photo session, the opening ceremony can now be revisited on the exhibition website and the "Business to Easy" platform.