DUBAI, 20 January 2003 — Some 130 companies from 23 countries are showcasing more than 350 brands at the three-day Sign and Graphic Imaging 2003 that opened at the Dubai International Exhibition Center yesterday. The show, claimed to be the largest in the event’s seven-year history, with organizers International Expo-Consults (IEC) projecting a 33 percent increase in exhibitor space, hosts, for the first time, a dedicated screen printing, digital imaging and color separation arena. In addition, the live demonstration zone for sign making, laser technology, adhesives and graphics applications has been enlarged.
The show is being held at a time when the Middle East’s retail sector is developing rapidly, with industry analysts forecasting the regional market will be worth in excess of $500 billion by 2010.
Major new retail projects under way or planned in the region include the massive Dubai Festival City project, with over 140,000 sq. m. retail space; the $1 billion redevelopment of Dubai’s Bur Juman Center that will increase the mall’s size from 300,000 sq. m. to 800,000 sq. m.; Majid Al Futtaim shopping malls in Dubai, Alexandria and Cairo, including the 60,000 square-meter Souk Al Nakheel leisure and shopping complex, and Citadel Properties’ malls in Sharjah, Dubai, Cairo and Beirut.
