| Information note to the press |
International Telecommunication Union
For immediate release |
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The ITU TELECOM Board recommends final negotiations
with Hong Kong, China for the next ITU TELECOM WORLD event
Geneva, 30 March 2004 — Mr
Yoshio Utsumi, Secretary-General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) announces
that the TELECOM
Board
meeting in Geneva today recommended that final negotiations be conducted with Hong Kong (China)
to hold the next ITU TELECOM
WORLD event.
The Board of ITU TELECOM considered the candidacies of five cities
bidding to be the venue for ITU TELECOM WORLD
2006 (Geneva, Hong Kong, Milan, Istanbul and Algiers).
A comparison of the bids was reviewed by the Board, focusing both on the responses to the
specific requirements of the call for bids and an analysis of the financial conditions.
The Board considered that the bids of Geneva and Hong Kong were the two leading ones.
Although the Geneva bid marked a considerable improvement on the terms offered for hosting ITU
TELECOM WORLD
2003 (especially with regard to the commitment to guarantee the withdrawal of the
"minimum stay" requirement in hotels), nevertheless, the Board expressed a preference
for Hong Kong based on the following considerations:
- The enormous market opportunity represented by Asia,
and by China in particular.
- The strong preference of vendors and operators to
follow market trends.
- The overall costs to exhibitors (taking into account
rental rates, sub-contractor rates, hotel rates etc), which are considered to be lower
in Hong Kong.
- The need to send a signal to the industry of the
willingness of ITU to listen to its customers, and to change.
- The desire to rotate the World events.
- Guarantees offered by Hong Kong concerning the
minimum level of space to be purchased by Chinese companies.
The Board invited the Secretary-General to open final negotiations first with Hong Kong,
with a view to obtaining the most favourable terms and conditions, particularly with respect
to the financial conditions which were not sufficiently attractive. In case the negotiations
with Hong Kong do not yield satisfactory results, the decision could therefore be to remain
in Geneva. The ultimate decision will rest with the Secretary-General based on the results
obtained.
The ITU TELECOM Board is a body whose role is to provide
strategic advice to the Secretary-General on ITU TELECOM events
and who represent the views of all stakeholders to the events.
ITU TELECOM events were launched more than 30 years ago with
the first World event being held in Geneva in 1971. The most recent world event held in
Geneva in October 2003 brought together 911 exhibitors representing 51 countries were
present with over 375 industry's CEOs and 148 government ministers and regulators
participating in the event. Over 1 500 journalists including 300 broadcast media and more
than 120 industry analysts were also accredited for the show.
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