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The Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology, Mr John Tsang, will visit PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2004 in Beijing tonight (October 27) to promote ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 to be held in Hong Kong.
PT/EXPO COMM CHINA 2004, held from October 26-30, is sponsored by the Ministry of Information Industry (MII) of the Central People's Government and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade. The event, one the largest exhibitions in information and telecommunications products and services in Asia, is held every two years in autumn in Beijing.
The Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau (CITB) of the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has set up an exhibition booth in PT/EXPO COMM 2004 to promote ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006 and to provide information and assistance to Mainland and international enterprises to encourage their participation in the event.
Besides Mr Tsang, the Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Communications and Technology), Mr Francis Ho, attended the event's opening dinner reception in Beijing last night (October 26).
The Deputy Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Communications and Technology), Mrs Marion Lai, also attended a press conference in Beijing to elaborate on the details of ITU TELECOM WORLD 2006.
The ITU TELECOM WORLD will be held in Hong Kong from December 4-8, 2006. It is the first time that the TELECOM WORLD will be held outside Geneva since its inception in 1971.
It is estimated that the event may attract up to 100,000 overseas visitors, generating about $1.2 billion of direct economic benefit for Hong Kong. In particular, the local hospitality and tourism industries will reap substantial benefit from the event being staged in the territory.
ITU TELECOM WORLD is the most prominent global telecommunications event held every three to four years. Hong Kong previously hosted two ITU regional events - ITU TELECOM ASIA 2000 and ITU TELECOM ASIA 2002.
The event comprises two parts - the exhibition and the forum. The exhibition enables industry players to showcase their latest equipment, services or technologies, while the forum provides a platform for the participants to debate critical issues of policy and regulations, key technologies and business applications and environment.
The event will be staged in the 66,000 square metres of exhibition space offered by the AsiaWorld-Expo, currently being constructed adjacent to Hong Kong International Airport. The construction will be completed by end-2005.
Ends/Wednesday, October 27, 2004
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