SHENZHEN will hold a major fair later this month to boost the city’s logistics industry, yesterday’s Shenzhen Special Zone Daily reported.

The China (Shenzhen) International Logistics Fair, the first of its kind in the city and the third-most important after the China Hi-tech Fair and the China (Shenzhen) International Cultural Industry Fair, will be held at the Shenzhen Convention and Exhibition Center from July 17 to 19.

Sponsored by the municipal government and organized by the Shenzhen Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, the fair has attracted 175 exhibitors from 20 countries and regions. Around 50,000 professional buyers are expected to attend the fair, which will be divided into 12 exhibition areas to display logistics services, equipment, technology and infrastructure products.

According to the organizers, some of the world’s best-known logistics companies including DHL, TNT and Fortune Top 500 enterprises such as Richon, China Mobile and China Telecom, and port authorities in Hamburg and Rotterdam will participate in the fair.

It was also announced at a press conference Friday that Shenzhen will sign a friendship port relationship agreement with Hamburg in Germany during the fair. Earlier in March, Shenzhen established a partnership with Rotterdam in the Netherlands.

Local logistics companies including Shenzhen airport, seaport and six logistics parks will also attend the fair.

Seminars and forums focusing on logistics and supply chain management, port management and navigation, as well as logistics information service will be held on the sidelines of the fair.

Logistics has become the city’s second-largest industry, following the high-tech industry, and has witnessed rapid growth in recent years. In 2006, the added value of the logistics industry reached 54.343 billion yuan (US$7 billion), up 7.784 billion yuan from 2005. The added value of the logistics industry accounted for 9.56 percent of the city’s GDP in 2006.  (Han Ximin)