Automobile aftermarket exhibition clocks over AED 420 million in business deals

In addition to the on-spot business closures, the participating companies are expecting the finalization of a record number of leads, distributorships and partnership deals, confirmed International Expo Consults- the organizers of the show. With the successful conclusion of the 2007 event, the show has shown a growth of 20 percent from the previous event in terms of the business done.

According to Abdul Rehman Falaknaz, President International Expo Consults, "the 2007 edition of the show has enjoyed unprecedented success in terms of the exhibitor participation, business transacted, leads generated and also in terms of the visitor attendance. The diversifying exhibitor and visitor profile of 2007 edition points to the growing attention the USD 18 billion Middle East aftermarket industry is attracting worldwide. The 27 percent annual growth of the industry makes it one of the fastest growing industries in the world.

One of the most significant departures from the past years has been the quality of trade visitors. The exhibition has witnessed a substantial growth in serious business visitors who are well aware of the market. This has substantially boasted the business denominators for the exhibitors."

A majority of the exhibitors in the show put the percentage of serious buyers at 60 percent in contrast to previous shows. The increase in the number of trade visitors actually looking for striking deals has further strengthened the profile of the exhibition as a commercially viable business platform. Besides visitors from GCC countries and the Indian subcontinent the show has hugely benefited from a heavy influx of visitors from the across the Middle East and North African region.

"The exhibition has definitely benefited from the fact that Dubai is the re-export gateway to MENA and CIS countries. The substantial increase in the number of visitors from across the Middle East and the African subcontinent over the years indicates the growing popularity of Dubai as the hub of Middle East re-export. Auto spare part re-export is a substantial contributor to Dubai's GDP as 60 percent of the auto-parts coming into the emirate are re-exported. The visitor turn-out from Iran has been particularly interesting, as AAME has reflected a steady growth in the number of visitors from that country. The turnout can also be interpreted in terms of the potential Iran holds as a auto-part re-export destination for Dubai", added Mr. Falaknaz.

Reacting on his participation UAE based Gurmeet Kohli, Director, Magnum Auto Spare Parts said, "the response to our participation has been very good. We have closed deals worth approximately $500,000 and we have 20 more potential deals in the pipeline."

AAME has been an equally fruitful platform for foreign companies and national pavilions. Mr. David Croxson, SMMT who represented United Kingdom's first ever foray into the Middle East auto-spare market expressed high satisfaction. "Our participation in AAME has helped us to make a thorough study of the Middle East market. Our interaction with other exhibitors and visitors has been very helpful in evaluating the market demands and in identifying the areas of high growth. Though we did not expect many deals in our first participation, we have actually concluded many with leads from every possible corner of the Middle East ", said Cox.

Automobile manufactures, suppliers and dealers all across the world including China , India, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Singapore , Slovenia, Canada, Czech Republic, South Africa, Poland , Turkey , Taiwan, USA, UK and UAE brought the latest innovations across a abroad spectrum of product categories and services to Dubai as part of the three day event.