More than 75 percent of the exhibitors taking part in this year's The Big 5 Saudi, set at Jeddah Centre for Forums & Events from March 10-13 will represent international companies. Held with the support of Prince Mansour Bin Mutaib Bin Abdulaziz, the event is now in its second year, and has had to double exhibition space due to the increased attraction from global building and construction companies from the likes of Germany, Italy, Turkey, France and Spain.
Andy White, event director for The Big 5 Saudi, says: "60 percent of exhibitors at The Big 5 Saudi 2011 were from overseas, but this year we have considerably more international companies looking to meet buyers and distributors. It highlights the importance of Saudi Arabia as a key market for international companies and the vital role trade shows like The Big 5 play in reaching this audience."
A report recently commissioned by The Big 5, "New technologies utilized in the GCC market" produced by Ventures Middle East, highlighted Saudi Arabia's influence as holding 51 percent of the on-going projects in the GCC at present. Furthermore, in the report's list of most influential clients in the GCC construction market, six from the top 10 were from the Kingdom, including the top spot being held by Emaar Economic City. Stuart Burns, CEO of UK exhibitor Dura Composites, said: "Following expansion into the Middle East via Dubai, we see Saudi Arabia as a natural next step to expand our composite technology into a growth region."
© Arab News 2012
