Following the extraordinary success of Cityscape Dubai, the world’s largest international B2B real estate event for investors and developers, IIR Middle East, the organiser of Cityscape, presented the brand’s concept to a select gathering of top real estate industry professionals in Beijing, to formally launch the event’s latest oriental export, Cityscape China.
Neil Hickman, Exhibition Director, Cityscape China, said “This is first time we have entered onto the Chinese mainland and many industry professionals were unaware of the Cityscape concept. Previously, the focus in China has been on residential developments rather than commercial and industry leaders welcomed the fact that Cityscape China will address all areas of the development cycle.”
The presentation marked the first stage of a comprehensive dual language (English & Mandarin) marketing drive, which includes advertising campaigns on regional TV & radio, telesales, direct mail and a concerted PR campaign. In addition and yet another first for an event of its kind, Cityscape China has also constructed a dual language website, www.cityscapechina.com.
Extensive research had been conducted by an independent agency, which interviewed over 24,000 participants, and the findings reaffirmed Cityscape’s decision to launch in China. The size of the market is well documented, with 20 per cent real estate growth per annum since 1995, over 750 cities to be built over the next 15 years and 2,520 projects either planned or currently under construction, including waterfront developments, industrial free zones, ‘techno’ cities and tourism projects on a monumental scale unique anywhere in the world.
To keep pace with China’s burgeoning population growth, some 500 to 600 million square metres of residential real estate needs to built every year for the next two decades, presenting huge challenges for architects, urban planners, developers and city governments.
Ryan Loh, General Manager, IIR China, commented, “Many of the current exhibitions in China are downstream events that only focus on the marketing of existing properties. Cityscape China offers an upstream alternative driving investors to meet developers and architects for the first time under one roof. Through the Cityscape brand, international industry support is secure, which has so far had a positive effect on the real estate industry in China.”
The Cityscape formula has proved to be a spectacular success in the Middle East since its debut in 2002. The exhibition has grown from a mere 320 square metres to 25,000 square metres this year. From just 598 participants, the 2006 event will accommodate over 30,000 participants, up to 40 per cent of which are major international players. At the 2005 show US$ 27 billion worth of projects and contracts were announced. It also enjoys substantial support from the Dubai Government as well as international industry support from Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE).
“Cityscape Dubai is now the world’s largest B2B property development and investment event. The key to its success was providing a platform to bring together developers and investors with government and industry support against a backdrop of unprecedented economic growth, throughout the M.E. region. In this respect we believe parallels can be drawn between the Middle East and China and the Cityscape formula is a viable proposition,” added Hickman.
Cityscape China takes place in Shanghai on 24-26 May 2007 and the city boasts some of the world’s tallest buildings amongst an urban spread accommodating over 16 million inhabitants. It is recognised as the commercial and financial heartbeat of China and the obvious venue for the launch of Cityscape China. In total 6,000 square metres of exhibition space has been reserved at the Shanghai International Exhibition Centre and providing consistency with the brand, an international conference featuring leading industry experts from around the world will also be convened.
