'Sales tax waiver will buoy sales at Gitex-Hyd'

Organisers expect number of visitors to three-day exhibition to double this year

The organisers of Gitex-Hyderabad "" Dubai World Trade Centre "" expect the volume of sales to go up during the three-day exhibition due to the waiver of sales tax on the goods sold. The organisers expect the number of visitors to double this year as compared to last year's 6,200 visitors.

Speaking to Business Standard, David Lim, international project manager, Dubai World Trade Centre, said: "This is the first time that the state government has waived the sales tax on all the items that would be sold at the exhibition. This will have a direct effect in boosting sales."

The exhibition, which will be held from January 12 to 14, 2005, will be in its fourth edition. Lim also said that for the first time the organisers felt the need to have two separate halls, one exclusively for trade visitors and the other that would be open to the public.

"In 2004, we had 70 stalls spread over 2,700 sq mts and this time we have doubled the space available and thus we expect the number of stalls also to increase," Lim said.

According to him, around 20 per cent of the stalls would be set up by companies from places like China, Taiwan, South Africa and Israel. "We would also have delegates from the Middle East, South Africa and other places," Lim said.

Lim said that the company had chosen the city for the exhibition because of plenty of opportunities in sectors like infrastructure development, software, biotechnology and the emerging trends in the ITES sector.

According to him, Gitex is different from similar exhibitions being held in other parts of the country as the exhibition draws strength from the parent company that organises similar events in Dubai, which is the world's largest IT event.

"The trade element and the consumer element is another factor that differentiates us as many times the serious business community does not like to mingle with the crowds, which is the new element that we would be following from on," Lim said.

Lim said that the company is also looking at having similar exhibitions in other countries. Apart from Hyderabad and Dubai, Saudi also has similar exhibitions.

"We are also committed to making Gitex Hyderabad the premier IT exhibition in the country and we would also be making some announcements in this regard towards the end of the exhibition," Lim said.