Asia Photonics Expo 2024: Paving the Future of Photonics in Emerging Markets

Asia Photonics Expo (APE) 2024, Asia’s Premier Photonics Event was announced at Shenzhen World Exhibition & Convention Centre, in conjunction with China International Optoelectronics Exposition. Hundreds of representatives from the optoelectronics industry including enterprises, associations, societies, research institutes and media attended the successful press conference.

During the welcome speech, Mr. Jianlin Cao, Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Science and Technology of China, said: “As a witness to the growth and expansion of photonics related R&D, industry and application in China, Minister Cao believes that the Asian market plays a very important role in the R&D, production and application of the photonics industry. Singapore, as the trade and business hub in Asia, has a superior geographical location and is the ideal location for Asia Photonics Expo.” He said: “I have also visited Singapore several times as a scientist and a member of the Chinese government delegation, here I hope that Singapore can give more support to the Asia Photonics Expo, and also hope that China’s research and development, production, especially the enterprise peers can bravely go globally and communicate with the world. Finally, I wish the first edition of Asia Photonics Expo a complete success, and each edition will be better than the last.”

APE’s key strategic partners, LUX Photonics Consortium and European Photonics Industry Consortium, were also present at the press conference. “We are thrilled to partner Informa Markets to launch the Asia Photonics Expo (APE) in 2024. APE will bring together industry leaders, researchers, and potential buyers, creating a global platform in Asia for knowledge exchange and business collaborations. This will offer opportunities for companies to venture into new businesses and partnerships in emerging markets globally.” said Prof Tjin Swee Chuan, Chairman, LUX Photonics Consortium.

Similarly, Mr. Carlos Lee, Director General of the European Photonics Industry Consortium shared on Global Collaboration to Advance Technology:” Photonics is a key enabling technology, and its progress depends on working together. APE will gather companies from Asia, Europe, and the world to further advance the technology through business and collaboration.”

APE will be held at Sands Expo and Convention Centre, Singapore from 6 to 8 March 2024. The inaugural event, organised by Informa Markets, will provide photonics professionals insight to the latest emerging trends shaping the future and offering the industry a valuable platform to explore, connect, collaborate with new markets in the region.

As Asia’s leading and influential event for photonics industry, APE is supported by the Singapore Tourism Board (STB). Mr Yap Chin Siang, Deputy Chief Executive, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “We are delighted to host the inaugural Asia Photonics Expo in Singapore next year. The decision to launch the world’s leading photonic event in Singapore reaffirms the industry’s confidence in our country as the preferred destination for business events, as well as our position as gateway to the Asia Pacific region. We look forward to gathering entrepreneurs and forward-thinking industry partners from around the world to connect, collaborate and explore new business opportunities in tandem with the fast-growing developments in the photonics field.”

In the subsequent media Q&A session, the media exchanged views with APE’s organising committee and speakers on many aspects.

For the choice of APE’s location, Mr. Eric Yang, Secretary General of APE, said “Singapore, as a trade and business centre in Asia, gathers the resources of Southeast Asia and even the world. Also, as an international metropolis, Singapore’s convenient transportation, favorable government support for the exhibition industry and superior geographical location are very strong advantages for hosting exhibitions. We believe that hosting an exhibition in Singapore is the way to achieve global industrialization.”

For the reasons for STB to support APE, Ms. Toh Sork Lee, Area Director, Greater China, Singapore Tourism Board, said: “China is one of the most important markets for Singapore, and even during the pandemic, there were many business exchanges between China and Singapore. We are therefore delighted that the first edition of Asia Photonics Expo will be held in Singapore.”

Prof Tjin Swee Chuan, Chairman, LUX Photonics Consortium, has answered the question to the development of Singapore’s photonics industry: “The Singapore government is very supportive of the development of the photonics industry and has been invested a lot over the years. As the chairman of LUX Photonics Consortium, I also attach great importance to the industrialization of IP and R&D results. We are now bringing together enterprises and R&D institutions to solve the problems encountered in the development of the photonics industry and further promote the industrialization of our research and development results.”

APE is the one-stop photonics exhibition for industry players to technical communication, networking, and product sourcing. Mr. Eric Yang, Secretary General of APE, said:” APE is committed to empowering the photonics industry and application fields, building a high-quality communication, exchange and learning platform for global industry players, promoting the in-depth communication and business collaboration between the photonics upstream and downstream professionals. It will be your best channel to maximize brand awareness and expand new business frontier.”