Chinaplas 2020 to focus on Asian market potential
Chinaplas will return to the National Exhibition and Convention Center, in Hongqiao, Shanghai, PR China from 3rd to 6th August 2020.
Chinaplas 2020 will aim to offer a local, regional, and global platform of highly cost-effective and technologically advanced solutions.
Asia has become the largest cluster of emerging economies in the 21st century. This region boasts more than half of the world’s population, expanding middle class, increasing consumption and continuous industrial transformation. Asia’s fast rise remains attractive despite economic slowdown. Asia currently represents more than a third of the global economy, and its self-reliance continues to strengthen – trade within Asia far exceeds the total of Asia’s trade with other regions such as North America and Eurozone.
Attracted by the region’s momentum, foreign investment continues to grow in Asia. According to the “Progress of Asian Economic Integration Annual Report 2019” by the BoAo Forum for Asia, investments are retreating from developed economies, especially the capital market in the U.S., and instead going into emerging Asian markets.
China’s Ministry of Commerce announced in November 2019 that China is gaining more foreign investment, not less, despite the sluggish global investment scene. During the first three quarters of 2019, China established more than 30,000 new foreign-invested enterprises and utilised 683.2 billion yuan of foreign investment – up 6.5% year over year.
Emerging economies in Asia are continuously introducing new policies to help companies transform and to attract foreign capital. Combining that with their domestic market potential, the manufacturing sector is growing. Every year, about 60% of Chinaplas overseas visitors come from Asia, and the number of visitors from Southeast Asia has been growing in recent years.
In Vietnam the plastics industry has averaged annual growth rate of 15-20% in the last decade. Additionally, Thailand, which is also known as the World Kitchen, anticipates its packaging industry to grow at a CAGR of 4.2% between 2017 and 2020. In Malaysia, the pharmaceutical industry is also giving a boost to the packaging market.
Despite the global economic slowdown, foreign-invested enterprises in China remain optimistic about the Chinese market and continue to invest. Foreign plastics machinery and materials suppliers are increasingly setting up regional headquarters, production bases, and/or research and development centres in China.
Song Yew Eng from Malaysia’s Chuan Weng Plastic SDN BHD said: “In the past, we relied on labour supply from Indonesia and Vietnam to offset our shortage, but workers from Vietnam are on the decline. I found the right machinery at Chinaplas to make up for our labour shortage. There are lots of options for semi-automatic machines that meet production needs and are cost-effective at the same time. As of now, our production has not reached the stage of full automation, and high-end machinery does not suit our current particular needs.”
Due to the relatively weak industrial infrastructure in Vietnam, the plastics industry there faces shortages of raw materials and processing equipment. This means that companies there are in dire need of advanced production equipment and materials. Tran Ngoc Linh, director of Manutronics in Vietnam stated during his last Chinaplas visit: “I’m from Vietnam. I come to Chinaplas mainly to find new business and new partners. Since we are now focusing on one-stop solutions, we are looking for materials for electronic components. The show is massive. I’ve spent two days on the show floor, but still haven’t been able to visit all of the suppliers that I’m interested in.”
Chinaplas will return to the National Exhibition and Convention Center, in Hongqiao, Shanghai, PR China from 3rd to 6th August 2020. Across 340,000 square meters of exhibition space, the event anticipates attendance of 3,900+ global exhibitors and 180,000+ visitors.