Asia's largest textile machinery exhibition goes to Expo Centre Lahore in Pakistan, March 18-21, 2009

Singapore, 14 August 2008 - Conference and Exhibition Management Services Pte Ltd (CEMS), a major player in the MICE Industry, is bringing the International Garment, Textile and Leather Machinery and Accessories Exhibition (IGATEX) PAKISTAN 2009 to Expo Centre Lahore, Pakistan's newest exhibition facility, on March 18 to 21, 2009.

"Moving from Karachi to Lahore, IGATEX 2009 will provide a more convenient and efficient business environment for participating exhibitors and visitors. Lahore is hailed as the textile hub of Pakistan, and it is strategically surrounded by a high concentration of textile manufacturers and factories, providing easy access to important buyers who want to attend the show", said Mr Edward Liu, Managing Director of CEMS.

Touted as Pakistan's most technologically advanced convention centre and one of South Asia's leading exhibition and conference venues, the Expo Centre Lahore will open its doors to invited delegations and representatives of distinguished textile machinery manufacturers' associations as well as industry players from more than 40 countries in the world.

Largest exhibition of its kind

Being the largest exhibition of its kind in the region, IGATEX PAKISTAN in its sixth edition has already secured the participation of various international groups, taking up an impressive 70% of the 12,000-square-meter four-hall exhibit space.

Countries like Austria, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and the United Kingdom have all confirmed international representation and are expected to bring along with them their country's best in this most-awaited four-day interactive showcase of world's cutting-edge industry tools and technology.

Likewise, as a result of an intensive road show conducted in the recently concluded ITMA Asia 2008, some distinguished global trade associations that were seen in the event are also flying to Pakistan. Among those listed are: Korea Textile Machinery Association (KOTMA), British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA), Verband Deutscher Maschinen- und Anlagenbau (VDMA) of Germany, Asociación Multisectorial de Empresas (AMEC) of Spain, Italian Textiles Machinery Manufacturers Association (ACIMIT) and the Singapore Textile Dealers Friendly Association (STDFA).

Recognizing the outstanding business value of this international platform, China Texmatech Co Ltd (CTMTC), one of the biggest industry players in the world, has, for two years now, penned a strategic partnership agreement with CEMS for the presentation of IGATEX PAKISTAN 2009 confirming the largest booth space of 480 square meters for the event.

Solid Pakistan

Local participants from Pakistan's Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Textile Industry, Board of Investment (BOI), Engineering Development Board (EDB) and the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan Board (TDAP) and all duly-recognized local textile trade associations have also cornered good spaces for the show, coming in solid in their bid to putting Pakistan as Asia's top textile and clothing exporting nation.

For the past year, Pakistan’s textile and garment industry makes up the country's largest industrial sector and accounted for no less than 62% of the total export earnings in the 2006-2007 fiscal year. In 2007, the total worth of textile exports was placed at $3.3 billion contributing to the country's real GDP growth rate of 6.6%.

Considered as one of the top 10 textile exporting countries of the world, Pakistan is the 4th largest producer of cotton yarn and cloth, and the 3rd largest player in Asia with a spinning capacity of 5% of total world production. It also ranks 2nd in the export of yarn, 3rd in the export of cloth and contributes 3% to the total textile trade of the world.

Today, Pakistan is a major textile exporter to bull markets like the United States, United Arab Emirates, China and the United Kingdom.

Boundless benefits

The organizers are seeing a forecast of US200 million on-site business transactions from targeted turnout of more than 45,000 trade visitors and professionals coming from different parts of the globe.

Moreover, an online business matchmaking service is also provided for exhibitors to network with potential new business alliances as well as buyers prior to the event. This guarantees them an efficient time to interact and do business together once the scheduled meeting at the exhibition site takes place.

Participants are also given an opportunity to learn in-depth some of the industry's latest technology innovations and new product launches through a series of technical seminars and actual demonstrations conducted by exhibitors.

Originally scheduled on October 22 to 25, 2008, organizers are moving the event to provide all projected 45,000 visitors an enriching experience of the new venue, which is scheduled to be operations-ready by February 2009. The Expo Centre Lahore is a modern complex, well equipped with business, cultural and convention centres, and encapsulates a 250-room hotel, a shopping mall and a 60-storey technology tower.

For more event information, contact CEMS Singapore at email: info@cems.com.sg, and telephone no: +65-2788-666, or CEMS Pakistan at info@cems.com.pk, and telephone no: +92-21-5810637 to 39.