UBM Asia Ltd, in conjunction with the Indonesia Furniture Association (AMKRI), is set to launch the Indonesian International Furniture Exposition (IFEX), to be held from 11-14th March 2014 at the Jakarta International Expo (JI Expo), and 12-15th March 2014 at Jakarta Convention Centre (JCC).
The announcement was made at a press conference held on 5th July at the Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia with representatives Christopher Eve, senior vice-president of UBM Asia Ltd, Mr Soenoto, chairman of AMKRI, Benny Wahyudi, director general of Agro Industry – Ministry of Industry and Gusmardi Bustami, director general for National Export Development – Ministry of Trade presiding.
According to Mr Soenoto, the exhibition is expected to host 500 furniture manufacturers and 5000 furniture buyers worldwide. Supported by the Ministry of Trade and the Ministry of Industry of the Republic of Indonesia, IFEX will showcase furniture made of various materials with a focus on hardwoods as well as furniture produced from rattan, bamboo, and even mango tree timber. The Indonesia furniture export industry is worth US$1.7b, following behind China’s US$45b and Vietnam’s US$4b market. Mr Bustami also expressed at the press conference that Indonesia’s furniture export is expected to nearly triple to US$5b within five years.
“Indonesia has a vast furniture industry and it is ready to further expand its already substantial export potential,” said Christopher Eve, senior vice-president of UBM Asia. “Indonesia’s strengths lay in its manufacturers’ high level of craftsmanship, manufacturing capacity and traditional as well as modern designs. In addition, Indonesia has ample supplies of raw materials, from sustainably sourced woods to rattan, bamboo and fabrics. We are proud to partner with the AMKRI, Ministry of Trade and Ministry of Industry to create higher business platforms, opportunities and visibility to the Indonesian furniture industry.”
Vis-a-vis the ASEAN Economic Community set for 2015 (AEC 2015), the launch of IFEX alongside recent exhibition launches in burgeoning economies as such as Myanmar demonstrates UBM Asia’s strategy to further invest in the ASEAN region. Currently, UBM has the most extensive trade exhibition network in South-east Asia, with over 50 events spanning eight ASEAN cities.
