The Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress 2007 opened in Hong Kong on Monday to embrace the top fast-growing Asia Pacific market, which is forecast by the world's top manufacturers to account for a third of aircraft orders over the next 20 years.

The Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress 2007 has celebrated its 14th presentation with the move of its venue from Singapore to Hong Kong for the first time.

Clive Richardson, senior vice president Asia of Reed Exhibitions which organize the four-day exhibition, said, "This historical presentation of our flagship aerospace industry event as the world's largest dedicated civil aerospace event has been shaped to suit the business demands of the entire Asian region."

The more than 25-year-old biennial event, being held at Asia World-Expo in Hong Kong from Sept. 3 to 6, has attracted around 500 exhibitors from more than 20 countries. The top 10 countries represented by visitor numbers include China, Singapore, India, Japan, the United States, Thailand, the Philippines and Malaysia.

Both the Airbus and Boeing, both exhibitors at Asian Aerospace International Expo and Congress 2007, see the Asia Pacific market for aircraft demand growing strongly over the next 20 years, making it the second most important region behind the North American market.

Boeing expects the Asia Pacific region to account for 29 percent of all new aircraft deliveries through 2026.

Richardson noted the forecasts the General Administration of Civil Aviation of China, which sees domestic traffic doubling every five years, and expects at least three Chinese airlines to be among the world's top 10 in passenger traffic and revenue rankings by 2020. Similar growth is also expected in India, which in 2003 had four main scheduled airlines and started this year with 14.