Many of the world’s best innovators, executives and entrepreneurs in the forefront of software development, animation services, information technology (IT), digital technologies and computer graphics are attending two major events this June 14 to 17 in Singapore – CommunicAsia2005 at Raffles City Convention Centre and BroadcastAsia2005 at the Singapore Expo. Why does the Philippines, which is a real rival of India and also of fast-rising China in the lucrative global outsourcing industry, have no major presence in these two international events?
Among the few Philippine firms with the foresight to join these two important global events are the Philippine Long Distance Telephone Co. (PLDT), Globe Telecom, Bidshot Wireless, Cube Interactive, Cube Production, Chikka.com, Globequest, Icon Interactive, Innove Communications, Mabuhay Satellite Corp., Tincan Mobile and Veritas System.
When it comes to sheer efficiency, elegance of convention and exhibition facilities, and international cosmopolitan ambience, few nations can equal the city-state of Singapore as an ideal host of global events. The formal names of these events are the 16th International Communications and Information Technology Exhibition and Conference, and the 10th International Electronic Media Technology Exhibition and Conference, both organized by Singapore Exhibition Services Pte, Limited.
CommunicAsia2005 will showcase the latest technologies in broadband communications, digital lifestyle, mobile communications, WIMAX, VoIP and others. A total of 1,542 international companies will be exhibited and will cover 46,000 square meters of total exhibition areas. Key exhibitors include LG of South Korea, Samsung, Lucent Technologies, ZTE of China, Siemens, Motorola, Shin Satellite, Arianespace, Ericsson, Telekom Malaysia, Huawei Technologies, UT Starcom, Panasonic, Sony, Sony Ericsson and others. The 7,882 pre-registered visitors have indicated a sourcing budget this year of $2.21 billion.
Among the numerous international dignitaries joining CommunicAsia2005 are Siemens Communications Mobile Phones president Thorsten Heins of Germany, Ericsson president and CEO Carl-Henric Svanberg, Alan Hellawell of Lehman Brothers, Telekom Malaysia chief operating officer Dato Adnan Rofiee, Thailand’s Shin Satellite Public Co. president Dr. Nongluck Phinainitisart, China Resources People’s Telephone Co., Limited chief CEO Charles Henshaw, Thomaas Goodwin III of Lucent USA, SingTel Mobile CEO Lim Chuan Poh, Shih Mu-Piao of Taiwan’s Chunghwa Telecom Co., and Far EasTone Telecom (Taiwan) president Jan Nilsson, Mark Newman of Informa Telecoms UK, Finland’s HP Bazaar founder Peter Vesterbacka, Finalnd’s Nokia global marketing director Mauri Metsaranta, Israel’s Ronen Daniel of Celltick, Switzerland’s Esmertec president and CEO Alain Blancquart, Jean Francois Thomas of France Telecom, NetCentrex France chairman Olivier Hersent, USA’s IPWireless president and CEO Chris Gilbert, Hong Kong’s Asia Netcom president Bill Barney and others.
In BroadcastAsia2005, this premier electronic media and broadcasting show in Asia offers Philippine broadcast industry players the latest technologies in digital TV and cinema, computer graphics and animation. A total of 844 international companies are exhibiting here, covering 16,000 square meters in exhibition areas. The countries with major "group pavilions" are China, France, Germany, Italy, South Korea, Spain, Singapore, USA and United Kingdom. Key exhibitors include Apple, Avid, Barco, Canopus, Harris, Homecast, Jutel, Leitch Asia, Quantel, Sennheiser, Tandberg TV, Vizrt, Fuji Koki, Chyron, and others. The 2,558 pre-registered visitors have indicated a sourcing budget of $776.5 million. The exhibition lasts from June 14 to 17, while the conference lasts from June 13 to 16.
BroadcastAsia2005 conference director Martin Salter said: "It is my pleasure to welcome Philippine visitors to our event where I am sure you will find a feast of topics that extend across the key issues facing the broadcasting industry today and bringing clarity to the new technological and business opportunities on the horizon. Sessions will address issues stretching from production, through delivery to the challenges of an increasingly all digital-home with the consumer in control."
Victor Wong, project director for communications of Singapore Exhibition Service, said: "We invite Philippine service providers and telecommunication carriers to source latest communication technologies and for your call centers to source for internet technology solutions to boost their productivity here at CommunicAsia2005. In this one event, we shall gather next week over 1,500 industry players from 52 countries and a mass audience of more than 45,000 business professionals. For BroadcastAsia2005, we are gathering 800 international companies. For these events last year, we received a total of 630 visitors from the Philippines, and we look forward to more visitors this year due to the big growth potentials of your economy in these vital industries which rely on creativity and your facility with English. Why spend too much money going to different cities and nations and companies to survey latest trends, when they are all here in these events in Singapore next week? "
Why is the Philippines, so near to CommunicAsia2005 and BroadcastAsia2005 events host Singapore, seemingly so far away in its enthusiasm for active participation in these global events which have far-reaching economic impact on the republic’s future?
It is tragic that the Philippines seems so complacent and just content with exporting eight million overseas Filipino workers (OFWs), gaining multi-billion dollar foreign exchange earnings yearly while not realizing that a lot of their IT, engineering and other creative skills worth much more are supporting the developed economies and their high-tech, communications, broadcast and other vital industries.
The private sector and the government should dispatch high-level delegations to these two events, in order to resolutely modernize our economy and to network with the world’s design, IT, business and other leaders for investments promotion and more technology transfers into the Philippines. As a society, all sectors of resource-rich and land-rich Philippines should be able to deftly seize opportunities and decisively create them if none seems available, gaining inspiration from tiny, land-poor and resource-poor Singapore with its giant-sized global vision and ambitions.
Philippine companies should not only be key players in these international events and strengthen our global competitiveness in those industries. Our government and private sector leaders should aim higher and someday aspire to take advantage of our east-west cosmopolitan culture, strategic location in the crossroads of the Pacific Ocean, vast untapped tourism potentials and our world-famed hospitality to host similar global events like CommunicAsia2005 and BroadcastAsia2005 here in Manila, perhaps in 2006 or 2008?