KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah International Expo (SIE) - the state’s premier business and trade fair - is set to make a comeback this year after a six-year hiatus.
Last held in 2016, the SIE is a Sabah government-sanctioned biennial event jointly organised by the Federation of Sabah Industries (FSI), the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) Sabah branch and the Sabah Industrial Development and Entrepreneurship Ministry.
SIE2023 co-organising chairman Datuk Lee Swi Heng (fourth from left) presenting a souveniour to Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor after the courtesy call at Menara Kinabalu on Tuesday (March 7).
It is also endorsed by the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (Matrade).
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Noor was briefed on the three-day event scheduled for September by the co-organising chairman Datuk Lee Swi Heng, who is also the MICCI Sabah chairman, at his office in Menara Kinabalu here on Tuesday (March 7).
SIE2023, which will be the 10th instalment of this event, will kick off with the International Business Luncheon Talk on Sept 21 at the Sabah International Convention Centre here.
Hajiji was told that the past nine SIEs have attracted participation from more than 50 countries drawing some 326,125 visitors and generating more than RM440mil in sales and future orders.
The Chief Minister is expected to launch the opening of the SIE2023 with 300 booths showcasing products and services from the agriculture, tourism, industry, green technology as well as oil and gas sectors.
Also present were FSI president and co-organising chairman Richard Lim, MICCI Sabah immediate past chairman Datuk Seri Panglima Wong Khen Thau and organising committee members.
The main objective of the SIE is to provide a platform for exhibitors from near and far to meet; to establish business contacts; to showcase latest products and services from the Brunei Darussalam-Indonesia-Malaysia-Philippines East Asean Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) specifically, and Asean broadly.
The SIE2023 is aimed at attracting commercial and economic interest to Sabah.
Sabah's abundant natural resources and proximity to the region's economic powerhouse such as China, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Australia, and the strength of RM60mil customer market in the BIMP-EAGA makes the state a potentially excellent and ideal trading hub in South-East Asia.
