Tech giants seek business opportunities at CES Asia
Visitors to the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Asia 2015 pack an Intel booth at Shanghai New International Expo Center last May 25. The show organizer, Consumer Technology Association (CTA), said this year’s event has significantly grown in size from some 200 participating companies last year to more than 350 this year. / Courtesy of CTA
By Lee Min-hyung
SHANGHAI, China ― The world’s leading IT giants will start a three-day quest for their next growth areas at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES) Asia, starting Wednesday in this commercial hub of China.
More than 350 global technology companies from across the world will showcase their latest feats at the upcoming tradeshow, seeking more business opportunities with clients in Asia’s economic powerhouse.
The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) began organizing the annual event last year after realizing the strategic importance of the Asian market.
Despite the relatively small size of the event ― it is not yet comparable to the CES in Las Vegas ― the Asian tradeshow is gaining traction each year. The show organizer said the participating companies have grown to 350 from last year’s 200 firms, with the number expected to become even greater next year. This year’s event is also expanding from two exhibit halls to four, with floor space reaching 16,000 square meters packed by industry-leading tech companies, according to the CTA.
“CES Asia is returning to Shanghai bigger and better with an increase in exhibitors and expanded floor space, which aligns with Asia-Pacific’s growing economic influence and importance in the global market,” CTA President and CEO Gary Shapiro said in a statement.
“We have secured mutually beneficial relationships with leading organizations as we work together to cross-pollinate Chinese, Asian and western brands and retailers on a global scale to make CES Asia the must-attend destination for Asian market expansion.”
One noteworthy feature of this tradeshow is that China’s most influential retail and e-commerce giants ― including Alibaba and JD.com ― will attend the event. Expectations are that participating firms will spare no efforts to draw the attention of such Chinese firms to expand their foothold in Asia’s most profitable marketplace.
In particular, Alibaba played a central role in starting the tradeshow in collaboration with the CTA. Yin Jing, president of Alibaba’s retail subsidiary Tmall, plans to deliver a keynote address on Thursday about the firm’s diversified business endeavors. Expectations are that the keynote will be in line with group chairman Jack Ma’s motto: “Building an ecosystem where buyers and sellers can survive through e-commerce.”
Kevin Ho, Huawei’s mobile phone division chief, will also give a speech on the first day of the event. Other speeches and official events will include discussions about state-of-the-art technology trends ― including robotics, wearable devices and the Internet of Things (IoT). The CTA said the participating companies will discuss technologies in 15 product categories including 3D printing, smart homes, wearables and vehicles equipped with IoT features.
On Friday, Chris Goeltner, global marketing manager at German lighting giant OSRAM, will deliver the event’s wrap-up speech on Asia’s leap forward in mobile technology.
As this year’s CES has done in January, global automakers ― including BMW, Volvo and General Motors ― will also take part in the event, in their bids to showcase their up-to-date achievements in such areas as connected cars and driverless vehicles.