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Trade Seeks Discount for Hong Kong Show
Aug 15, 2019 7:22 AM
By Joshua Freedman
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RAPAPORT... The Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers’ Association (HKJMA)
is asking the organizers of the September show for a 25% discount for its
members, citing difficult market conditions due to the trade war and social
unrest in the city.
Many overseas exhibitors and buyers are likely to skip
the Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair following government warnings about visiting
the municipality, the HKJMA said this week. Domestic companies have also expressed
“anxiety” about the event, with some stating they might not attend in order to minimize
losses, Wings Cheung, the association’s general manager, wrote in a note to
members.
“This is the most
challenging time for Hong Kong’s jewelry sector since the financial crisis,”
Cheung stressed.
The group will meet with Informa, the coordinators of the
show, to propose a reduction in exhibitors’ fees. It will also request lower prices
for next year’s June and September shows, which Informa organizes, and will
have similar discussions with the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC),
which operates the March fair.
The show is still due to take place from September 16 to
22 as planned, Informa told Rapaport News last week. “We are closely
monitoring the situation following recent public incidents at Hong Kong
International Airport,” the company added Wednesday. “We are, however, hopeful
that the situation will calm down.”
The airport is the primary entry point for visitors to
Hong Kong, as well as being adjacent to AsiaWorld-Expo, which is scheduled to
host the show’s loose-diamond exhibition. Demonstrators and police officers
have also clashed near the Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre in the
Wan Chai district, the venue for the finished-jewelry section.
As unrest in Hong Kong escalated this week, the
association advised its members to show extra financial prudence, and to take
special care with overseas travel. Its chairman, Benny Do, has asked the
Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, the Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance
Corporation and the Federation of Hong Kong Industries for a meeting to discuss
the challenges.
The group has also cancelled the November Miss Jewelry
Hong Kong 2019 pageant to save costs ahead of the JMA Hong Kong International
Jewelry Show, which begins November 28.
Diamond and jewelry demand softened in the region even
before the protests started, Cheung noted, as the trade dispute between the US
and China has impacted sales over the past year. US President Donald Trump’s recent
addition of a 10% tariff on many Chinese goods, starting September 1, has
worsened the situation, he added.
Neither Informa nor the HKTDC had responded to a
request for comment about fees at press time.
Image: Protests at Hong Kong International Airport on August 11. (Shutterstock)
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Tags:
asia, AsiaWorld-Expo, Benny Do, China, Commerce and Economic Development Bureau, Donald Trump, Federation of Hong Kong Industries, HKJMA, HKTDC, Hong Kong, Hong Kong Convention & Exhibition Centre, Hong Kong Export Credit Insurance Corporation, Hong Kong Jewellery & Gem Fair, Hong Kong Jewelry Manufacturers’ Association, Hong Kong protests, Hong Kong Trade Development Council, Informa, JMA Hong Kong International Jewelry Show, Joshua Freedman, Rapaport News, tariffs, Trade War, Wan Chai, Wings Cheung
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