As part of the Asia Fashion Exchange, it brings together the private sector, the Textile and Fashion Federation of Singapore, and government agencies such as the Singapore Tourism Board, International Enterprise Singapore and SPRING Singapore.
Opening the summit, Singapore's Minister in Prime Minister's Office, Second Minister for Finance and Transport Lim Hwee Hua said that the event sets out to be the central driving force for the development of Asia as its strategic fashion hub, as the first Asian information exchange for fashion matters.
Citing the Euromonitor International, she said that the Asia-Pacific had a combined purchasing power for fashion and footwear of some 370 billion U.S. dollars in 2008, a dramatic increase of over 60 percent from 227 billion U.S. dollars in 2007.
She said that the Asian fashion market size is projected to grow at more than 5 percent compounded annual growth rate from 2008 to 2013, compared to a possible contraction in Western Europe and in North America, while Forbes reported that China's online shopping sales alone hit 36.6 billion Singapore dollars (27 billion U.S. dollars) in 2009. This means that fashion businesses are now competing on a global arena.
She also indicated that a total of 4,500 wholesalers, retailers, and manufacturers generate some 7 billion Singapore dollars (5 billion U.S. dollars) in operating receipts and 1.2 billion Singapore dollars (1 billion U.S. dollars) in value added to the Singapore economy.
"Given Singapore's strategic location, and the cultural affinity and connectivity we share with the region, we are well- poised to serve as a test-bed to gather and analyzse consumer insights, and develop products for the Asian market," Lim said.
