Please visit our website at www.hkcec.com for Event Calender and Fair Preview

Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair 10-13 January 2006 Business Playground

Fast on the heels of Christmas is an event even Santa Claus may want to attend! At the HKCEC from 10 to 13 January 2006 is the Hong Kong Toys and Games Fair 2006, organised by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council. Its 2005 edition established the Fair as Asia's largest and the second largest worldwide, and the 2006 incarnation will offer the usual cornucopia of must-have products to buyers from all over the world.

Taking advantage of the HKCEC's large-scale exhibition resources, the 2006 Fair expects to welcome even more than last year's nearly 30,000 buyers and 1,900 exhibitors. What's the underlying secret of this Fair's success? A French buyer summed it up. "We've come to look for good-quality, design-led, innovative toys and products for children," she said. "Hong Kong is the start of everything in this business - everything filters through from here. When you come here you're closest to both the products and the people."

For more information, please visit www.hktoyfair.com

Fire Asia 2006 15-17 February 2006 A Burning Issue

It's a bit of a cliché that fire represents not only one of humankind's greatest tools but also one of its worst enemies. Fire Asia 2006 returns to Hong Kong and the HKCEC after three years, ready to showcase the complete range of protection that has been developed to counter the risk of fire in both domestic and industrial environments. From simple fire extinguishers to complex sprinkler systems, from basic protective gear such as goggles and visors to sophisticated breathing apparatus and computerised control equipment, from 15 to 17 February Fire Asia 2006 will display the ultimate in fire protection and prevention measures at the HKCEC. A conference held concurrently with the exhibition and organised by the Institution of Fire Engineers with the full support of the Hong Kong Fire Services Department, will focus on new technology issues such as fire science research, fire safety management, and firefighting.

For detailed schedule, please visit www.fire-magazine.com

China Maritime 28 February - 2 March 2006 The Shipping News

Brand-new but long-awaited exhibition China Maritime debuts at the HKCEC from 28 February to 2 March 2006. Designed to address every aspect of commercial marine activity relevant to China and Hong Kong, the event is being organised by Baird Publications. Its location in Hong Kong, and at the HKCEC, was carefully planned: Hong Kong is one of the world's top three maritime centres and among the top cargo and container ports in Asia.

The scope of commercial marine activity today can easily seen by surveying the activities in Hong Kong's bustling harbour. Ferries, water taxis, commercial fishing boats, police launches, luxury passenger liners, tugs, lighters, barges and container ships all ply Victoria Harbour's choppy waters. All these and more are catered for by China Maritime, which the organiser says is aimed at owners and operators of vessels of all shapes and sizes, along with their builders and suppliers. The event will also feature the SEA-PAX Asia Conference and a series of concurrent special-interest forums, the "World Shipbuilding Forum", the "Patrol, Assault, Pilot and Rescue Craft Forum", and the "Waterfront Development Forum".

For more information, please visit www.baird.com.au

Broadband World Forum Asia 2006 15-18 May 2006 Broadband Business

While the word 'broadband' would have meant little or nothing to most people just a few years ago, today it's become a commonplace for many of us. What's more, broadband is big business in an era of Internet communication and, like other areas of technology, subject to constant change and innovation. The Broadband World Forum Asia 2006, to take place for the first time at the HKCEC from 15 to 18 May 2006, brings together industry leaders to discuss, examine and evaluate broadband technology alternatives for the future. The Forum will include an exhibition, running on 16 and 17 May and featuring broadband technologies, equipment, applications, solutions, and services, at which leading technology vendors from around the world will display their products. For broadband service suppliers, the Forum represents a superb opportunity to discuss new advances and technologies with key industry organisations. Just as importantly, it gives them the chance to assess developments that can help keep implementation costs low and maximise returns on infrastructure investment.

For more information, please visit www.iec.org/events/2006/bbwf_asia

Vinexpo Asia Pacific 2006 23-25 May 2006 Wine Wonderland

Asia is the world's leading market for spirits, accounting for 57% of global consumption in 2003 and probably 60% by 2008. Consumption of still and sparkling wines in Asia, meanwhile, totalled around 661 million litres in 2003, and is expected to grow by another 16% between 2003 and 2008 to nearly 800 million litres.

With these figures in mind, French wine promoter Vinexpo Overseas SAS has decided to hold its Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2006 in Hong Kong. "Vinexpo is back in Hong Kong because this city enjoys a central location in Asia and is the hub of the Asian wine and spirits trade", says Vinexpo's Chief Executive Mr Robert Beynat. Scheduled for 23 to 25May 2006, Vinexpo Asia-Pacific 2006 will be following up a series of Vinexpo Overseas events that began in Hong Kong back in 1998 and have since been held in Tokyo and the US. Because Vinexpo Overseas events are carefully tailored to the conditions and tastes of the regions they serve, attendance at this show is being reserved exclusively for key players in the wine and spirits industry from the Asia Pacific region, including buyers, retailers, wholesalers and importers. The event will feature an extensive programme of tastings, tasting workshops, conferences and seminars put on by a number of different parties including the organiser, exhibitor groups, and both local and international professional wine and spirits organisations. With 700 exhibitors expected from around the globe, Vinexpo Asia-Pacific is shaping to be one of the highlights of the year for everyone involved in the wine and spirits industry.

For more information, please visit www.vinexpo.com

20th International Travel Expo 15-18 June 2006 More Ways to Travel

The travel industry's annual trade event International Travel Expo (ITE) is benefiting from a real boom in business travel across Asia, a result of vibrant regional economies and strong international trading conditions. But that's only one reason why exhibitors and visitors flooded to the event in 2005: they were also drawn by large-scale official participation from national tourist boards and an extremely wide base of goods and services on show. For 2006, organiser TKS Exhibition Services Ltd will be staging the 20^th International Travel Expo at the HKCEC from 15 to 18 June, when it plans to further strengthen the show's theme pavilions and boost its range of national pavilions. It is also diversifying the event's appeal by adding ITE MICE, a separate show running from 15 to 17 June and focusing specifically on business travel and the MICE market. The first two days of the ITE MICE event will target trade and corporate travel, while the third day will expand to cover the upmarket leisure sector, with its close links to business travel

For more information, please visit www.itehk.com and www.itehkmice.com