JEDDAH, 13 December 2003 — Deals worth millions of riyals were struck or projected between overseas exhibitors and local businessmen during Saudi Arabia’s International Trade Fair, which closed on Thursday night after a five-day run here.

“Malaysia’s 200 exhibitors have reached deals worth SR10 million, and some others worth many more millions are in the process of negotiation,” Mohamed Ghazali Idris, manager of Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation, told Arab News. “We’ve also received more than 500 inquiries from local students and parents for prospective enrollment in Malaysian colleges and universities to study engineering, business and IT, and in summer schools, especially for English language courses,” he added. An Indonesian furniture exhibitor said he entered into a deal to supply sofa sets worth $400,000. “There have also been deals forthcoming for other Indonesian exhibits,” Indonesia’s Economic Affairs Consul Mohamed Alimudin Arifin Pohan said. Iranian exhibitors said two of their carpet companies had received respectively $4 million and $1.2 million orders. “Local importers have been particularly interested in importing custom made carpets, however expensive they are,” Kian Motamedi Kia, leader of the Iranian delegation and president of Nojan Rad Co., said.

All 25 Thai exhibitors have reached deals, each of them ranging upward of SR250,000. Products popular with local importers include perfumery, household items, readymade dresses for children and custom jewelry, according to Chavalit Rojjanaprapayon, senior officer at the Bangkok-based Department of Export Promotion’s International Trade Training Institute. The Hong Kong Trade Development Council’s assistant manager Jerry Ng said the island’s ceramic and crystal products were in great demand from local importers. “There have also been a number of inquiries for Industrial safety products and lanterns,” he said, adding that Hong Kong, which increased its strength of exhibitors from eight last year to 14 this time, might double the number next year. The fair had a record attendance of more than 13,000 registered visitors, according to Zahoor Siddique, exhibitions director at the Al-Harithy Company for Exhibition which organized the annual fair. The 22nd edition of the fair will be held in May next year.