GUANGZHOU: Now in its sixth year, the upcoming China International Small and Medium Enterprises Fair (CISMEF) will have unprecedented scale and participation when it gets underway on Sept 22, organizers tell China Daily.

Among its thousands of exhibitors will be more than 800 with displays from 32 countries and regions worldwide, as well as over 10,000 participants and buyers from 55 countries and regions

With 120,000 sq m of exhibit space, the fair has more than 6,000 standard booths, one-fourth of which are for overseas exhibitors.

Set to run through Sept 25, the fair includes industrial exhibition halls to showcase electronics and IT products, household appliances, machinery and equipment, energy-efficient and environmentally friendly solutions and products.

As well, building materials and consumer products such as furniture, textiles and garments, footwear, headgear, cases and bags, toys and crafts, food and medicines will be on display. There will also be a section for a wide range of modern services.

The international exhibition will include halls for Spanish exhibitors, for Asia-Europe international SME cooperation and exchange, and for exhibitors from Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

Over its four-day duration the fair will host summit meetings, forums, lectures and seminars on cooperation among SMEs in Asia and in Europe, on marketing strategy, financing channels and the Chinese government's latest policies on SMEs, as well as special training programs for SME executives.

Established brand

CISMEF organizing committee officials attribute the rise in both registered exhibitors and visitors to benefits from the fair's branding and its reputation as an effective forum for SMEs from home and abroad to forge cooperative ties. They note that it is a crucial channel for smaller businesses from abroad to penetrate the market in China as well as a reliable stage for domestic SMEs grasp their domestic market potential .

They said that the organizing committee will for the first time sponsor a summit to match SMEs with venture capital firms and private equity funds. More than $20 billion is expected to be raised for SMEs at the fair.

According to Tong Xing, vice-governor of Guangdong province, this year's CISMEF will be more international and will promise even more opportunities. Amenities and support for both exhibiting firms and those promoting services will be better than any previous session, the senior official added.

He said that the organizing committee has done much preparatory work, including an online site on Spanish exhibiting firms.

"CISMEF is the only comprehensive international fair exclusively for SMEs in China and probably in the world," Tong said. "The organizing committee has developed the event into a platform for policy communication, financing, information exchange and human resources."

The event is jointly organized by the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Commerce, the State Administration for Industry and Commerce, the General Administration for Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, the China Banking Regulatory Commission, and the provincial government of Guangdong.

The Ministry of Industry, Tourism and Trade of the Kingdom of Spain is a co-sponsor of this year's CISMEF.