In this issue, we are proud to announce that we have kicked off our first WEO Conference on 10th February 2006. The two-day event was held at Sunway Lagoon Hotel and Resort, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Inaugural WEO Conference was attended by WEO partners and associates from Australia, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Middle East.

The objective of this initial conference was to promote a closer bond and working relationship between WEO companies as many of the delegates were meeting for the first time. The programme was planned to achieve this objective with innovative presentations, stimulating discussions, informative site visits and most importantly, many opportunities to network during the interesting social events.

We would also like to highlight a recent key event, IFFS/AFS 2006. It was organized by our WEO partner, International Furniture Fair Singapore Pte Ltd held from 1st March 2006 to 5th march 2006.

The IFFS/AFS 2006 occupied six halls of the Singapore Expo and boasted an increase of eight per cent in size from 2005 to an astounding nett exhibition space of 35,500 sqm. The number of new exhibitors also grew by more than 100 per cent, from 85 companies in 2005 to 176 this year to provide potential new business ventures.

This event has again proven to be an excellent business conduit for the international furniture trade fraternity in Asia. The fair generated a record yield of estimated US$240m of spot orders over the five-day event from 1 to 5 March at the Singapore Expo. The event is also expected to garner an additional US$2.1b of follow-on sales for the year ahead.

IFFS Pte Ltd reported that at the closing of IFFS/AFS 2006, more than 60 per cent of exhibition space for the 2007 fair had already been booked, with exhibitors hailing from China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore, Taiwan, USA and Vietnam.