S.African expo attracts over 200 Chinese companies

Over 200 Chinese companies took part in the three-day Southern African International Trade Exhibition (SAITEX) just concluded in Johannesburg, with most of them clinching business and trade deals.

The exhibition which showcased products like foodstuffs, construction equipment, vehicles, clothing and locomotives amongst others, provided a good business platform for the 1,000 companies that attended this years' exhibition.

Jiangsu Zongshew, a Chinese company that specializes in manufacturing tricycles, entered into a deal with a South African company called the Great Ocean Import and Export.

"We are ready to start sending tricycle parts to be assembled in South Africa. We have signed the deal and will wait for the paperwork to start our partnership.

"We are glad about the deal and are looking forward to establishing our base in South Africa and then expand to other countries in the region," said David Wang, Sales Manager of Zongshen.

Wang also confirmed that they got a lot of business promises which are likely to bear positive results in the future. Jiangsu Zongshen, which sells its products to 30 countries, issued 1,000 pamphlets at the exhibition advertising their products.

The China Railway Construction Corporation was one of the most popular stands at the exhibition. Their state-of-the-art trains lured a lot of companies who were keen to know how they can import those to their countries.

Shan Jia, the local Manager for China Railway Construction Corporation, told Xinhua that even though they did not expect to make deals, they managed to showcase what they are capable of doing.

"As the largest contractor in the world, we came here to make people see and feel what we can make."

"We are here to display the railways and heavy equipment we have. We would like to see Africa having these high tech railways connected to each other," Jia said.

The activities of this company include manufacturing sophisticated turbine boring machinery as well as installing and maintaining railways. China Railway Construction Corporation managed to sign deals totalling 177 billion U.S dollars with African countries namely Zimbabwe, Zambia, Namibia and Nigeria.

The exhibition also went a long way in affording African companies to showcase their products to the outside world.

Gavin Boy, Director at McKinley Chocolates, which is a South African company, said he was happy that next month they will start receiving chocolates from a company in Kazastan for resale in South Africa. He also praised the Chinese market as a potential place for his company's chocolates.

Boy said, "The Chinese market is hungry and aggressive. We are hoping to sell our products to China soon."

The organizers of SAITEX Exhibition Management Services described the 2015 exhibition as a success. The 1,000 companies that attended the exhibition came from 66 countries, a remarkable increase from the 55 countries that were represented last year.

John Thomson, Managing Director of Exhibition Management Services, said, "Over 12, 000 visitors came to the exhibition in the first two days. Some have agreed on partnerships and business deals with South African companies and this will assist in employment creation and economic growth of the country," he said.

Thompson said he expected deals worth billions of dollars to come out of the exhibition. "Many companies signed deals during the exhibition while others will do so in future. We are proud as organizers to provide such a crucial platform for business development in different countries," Thomas said. Endi