Hong Kong’s annual mega-events for the lighting industry – the International Lighting Fair (Spring Edition) and Smart Lighting Expo – wrapped up on 23 April, capping four days of enthusiastic sourcing and deal-making by some 13,000 buyers from 114 countries and regions.
Around 900 exhibitors displayed the latest lighting products and intelligent illumination solutions, drawing a strong turnout of buyers from markets including Malaysia, the Philippines, France, Germany, Türkiye, Brazil, Canada and the US, amongst others.
Smart lighting solutions continued to generate strong buyer interest. A Cambodian decoration company placed bulk orders worth US$100,000 for smart streetlights destined for new commercial buildings and luxury residential projects in the fast-growing market. The buyer said he travelled specifically to the twin fairs looking for streetlights, solar lights and decorative lighting products and met over 20 new suppliers.
Another buyer from Kazakhstan visited the fairs in search of lighting equipment for three international schools and a stadium currently under construction. Through the Click2Match business matching platform, the buyer identified three potential suppliers from the Chinese Mainland and plans to purchase lighting equipment valued between US$600,000 and US$900,000.
Such transactions reflect the surge in demand for high-efficiency lighting products in countries and regions undergoing infrastructure upgrades under the Belt and Road Initiative.
Among the event’s highlights this year, the Light Lab zone stood out for its immersive presentation of lighting products across three real-world functional scenarios – outdoors, sports and culture. Guoli Zhu from Shanghai Sansi Electronic Engineering praised the zone for vividly demonstrating the practical applications of his company’s clamp lights for plant cultivation and compact downlights designed to illuminate fine art. He added the showcase had helped generate potential orders worth over US$1 million from buyers in Argentina, Germany, India, Japan and other countries and regions.
For the first time, the HKTDC organised a buying mission during the fair to the nearby city of Zhongshan, 1.5 hours from Hong Kong. Participants toured several lighting factories and held business meetings with companies across the lighting supply chain. The visit resulted in multiple substantive business collaborations. New Zealand buyer Spark100 connected with a lighting supplier and discussed a potential order for products worth an estimated US$100-300,000.
An on‑site survey of 450 exhibitors and buyers confirmed an upbeat industry outlook with 49.1% of respondents expecting overall sales to increase in the next 12 to 24 months, while a further 47.6% anticipate sales to remain stable.
The survey also revealed respondents feel the most promising target sales destinations in the next two years are India (73.4%), Australia (71%), ASEAN countries (70.4%), and Japan (68.1%), while the product categories with the greatest sales potential are home automation and intelligent lighting control systems (48.2%), energy saving lighting control solutions (38.2%), and outdoor smart security lighting systems (31.1%).
Beyond technology fairs, the HKTDC will also host a vibrant line-up of lifestyle exhibitions later this month, including the Gifts and Premium Fair, Fashion InStyle, Home InStyle, International Printing & Packaging Fair and Deluxe PrintPack Hong Kong. The five fairs will be held concurrently from 27 to 30 April, offering buyers a one-stop sourcing platform across multiple lifestyle and consumer sectors.