The ninth Hong Kong International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition), organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC), closed yesterday. The four-day fair (6-9 April) welcomed a record of 1,340 exhibitors from 13 countries and regions, welcoming close to 21,000 buyers from 115 countries and regions, a 5.8 per cent increase over the previous year.

(Image: HKTDC)

"We saw brisk trading and networking at the Spring Lighting Fair," said HKTDC Acting Executive Director Benjamin Chau. "Buyers from European, US and Asian markets were actively engaged in sourcing, with buyer attendance from the United States, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Canada, Japan, the Philippines and Thailand recording double-digit increases - bringing more business opportunities for exhibitors."

Mr Chau noted that a fairground survey indicated that the industry was optimistic about the lighting market's outlook for the coming year, with expectations of persistent demand for smart lighting and substantial growth in LED and green lighting sectors.

A new "Smart Lighting & Solutions" zone was introduced this year to showcase the latest smart lighting systems, remote controls and products, while "LED and Green Lighting" remained the fair's largest thematic zone, attracting more than 450 suppliers. These zones offered quality products catering to the latest market needs. 

The HKTDC commissioned the independent on-site survey during the fair, interviewing more than 373 exhibitors and buyers about their views regarding industry prospects. The survey found that 95 per cent of respondents expect overall sales of products to increase or remain unchanged this year, up 31 percentage points from last year.

As for product trends, respondents consider lighting accessories, parts & components to be the product sector with the highest growth (38%), followed by LED & green lighting (18%), household lighting (18%) and smart lighting & solutions (9%).

Among traditional markets, respondents are most optimistic about North America, Western Europe and Hong Kong. As for emerging markets, respondents believe the Chinese mainland, ASEAN countries, the Middle East and Latin America have the best growth prospects this year.

(Image: HKTDC)

- Persistent demand seen for smart lighting -

Ninety two per cent of respondents say they believe "smart city and smart home" technology will drive development of the lighting industry in the next two years. The highest growth potential is seen in household lighting systems that can be controlled by smart phone/tablet applications, and in smart lighting systems primarily with energy-saving purposes for household/industrial/commercial applications.

"Smart lighting is favoured by the new generation in GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council) countries because young people like novelty and they can use mobile apps to control lighting effects and achieve home automation," said Muhammed Noufel, General Manager of Bella Nova Trading FZE.

The buyer from the United Arab Emirates also said his company had identified many new suppliers through the fair, and planned to buy US$50,000-100,000 worth of LED lighting products from them.

(Image: HKTDC)

- LED and green lighting in spotlight -

LED and green lighting has been a focus for global buyers due to declining prices, higher energy efficiency, longer life expectancy as well as growing environmental awareness. The survey found that the respondents expect indoor household lighting (28%), indoor office & commercial lighting (21%) and outdoor lighting (18%) to be the LED application categories with the highest growth potential for the next two years.

Fair exhibitor Hangzhou Sky-Lighting Co Ltd was promoting its eco-friendly LED filament bulbs at the show, where it had met with buyers from Europe who were very interested in its products. Europe and the Middle East were the exhibitor's largest markets, "We are keen to expand into new markets such as Japan and the US through the fair. The Spring Lighting Fair provides an ideal platform for us to look for quality buyers," said Sales Manager Lu Lu.

Albert Huang, Operation Director of US exhibitor Jaykal LED Solutions Inc said both the spring and autumn editions of the Lighting Fair provide a good platform for his company to introduce new products.

He added that its solar streetlights had attracted strong interest from buyers from such regions as Africa and South America. The company runs a Chinese mainland factory that manufactures high-quality LED lighting products for industrial and commercial applications.

Maria Cabrera, CEO North America for Swiss LED USA, was visiting the fair for the third time. She found at least eight potential suppliers of household lighting and two potential suppliers of hotel lighting products from the Chinese mainland and Vietnam.

Mrs Cabrera said she plans to buy US$500,000 worth of lighting products from these new suppliers and would soon confirm orders with the hotel lighting suppliers.

(Image: HKTDC)

- Highly Effective Marketing and Sourcing Platform -

Mable Fang, Lighting Consultant for Epistar Industrial (Hong Kong) Co Ltd - an exhibitor which has joined the fair for many years - said the show was an important platform to promote the company among international buyers and to look for new prospects.

"We have received enquiries from many buyers including those from Europe, the Middle East, Southeast Asia and the US. We expect that at least two to three new buyers will buy our products," she said.

Argentine buyer Fernando Pache Brussoni, Director of Urulamp, appreciated the scale of this year's Spring Lighting Fair. "The LED industry is developing quickly. The fair brings together a lot of suppliers and new products, which allows us to grasp the latest trends. So far, we have found new models of flood lights and street lights, and already identified four to five new suppliers from the Chinese mainland. We'll buy their products after checking their quality and prices," he said.