Holiday Inn Express, Office 1 and Vanke Among Companies to Exhibit at 10th Annual Franchising China Event in Shanghai

Holiday Inn Express, Office 1 and Vanke Among Companies to Exhibit at 10th Annual Franchising China Event in Shanghai

November 08, 2007

    SHANGHAI, Nov. 8 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- Global Sources'
(Nasdaq: GSOL) 10th Annual Franchising China Conference
& Exhibition ( http://www.franchisechina.com ) opens
today and runs through tomorrow at Shanghai Mart. 

    (Logo: http://www.xprn.com/xprn/sa/200708071747.jpg )

    Nearly 100 international and local franchisors and
20,000 entrepreneurs are expected to participate at the
event and the two other legs of Franchising China in:

    -- Guangzhou -- Nov. 12-13 at Jin Han Exhibition
Center
    -- Beijing -- Nov. 15-16 at China World Trade Center

    Among the international brands set to exhibit are
Athlete's Foot, Gloria Jean's Coffee, Holiday Inn Express,
Meyer Cookware, Office 1, Subway and Super 8 Motels.
Successful domestic China franchisors are also set to
participate including Dio Coffee, Home Inn, Iceason, ILSA
Laundry, JinJiang Inn, Vanke and Tayohya.

    Exhibitors represent product categories ranging from
retail, education, hotels, laundry services and food &
beverage to beauty & health, automotive, commercial
services and furniture/home products. 

    Global Sources' Chief Operating Officer, Craig Pepples,
said: "Franchising is an ideal way for entrepreneurs to
start a new business. Start-up costs are relatively low,
with about one-third of franchises in China requiring an
investment of less than 100,000 Yuan.

    "And what better place to open a franchise than in
Shanghai? Per capita income of permanent urban residents in
Shanghai was more than US$ 7,000 in 2006, almost four times
the national average. Residents also have the highest
disposable income of any city in China. 

    "Franchising China not only offers would-be
business owners a range of international and local
franchises to choose from, we give them the knowledge they
need to run it successfully. Plus, it's an excellent venue
for people in the industry to network with current and
future business partners, and to discuss new opportunities
in China's booming franchise market." 

    Free Seminars Offering Best-of-Breed Franchising
Insight
    Free seminars and lectures will give attendees an
overview of franchising as well as tips to operate
franchises in specific industries. 

    The chairman of the International Franchise
Association, Michael Isakson, is scheduled to be the
keynote speaker on the first day of each show. He will
share important aspects of how to evaluate a franchise
before investing. 

    On the second day of each event, executives from Dio
Coffee and JinJiang Inn are scheduled to discuss business
opportunities created by the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

    Visitors can also attend Franchise Opportunity Seminars
given by individual franchisors. Company representatives
will introduce requirements for becoming a franchisee along
with the benefits of their franchise systems. Seminars will
be conducted by 14 different franchisors. 

    Seminar schedules, more event details and online
pre-registration are available at
http://www.franchisechina.com .

    Global Sources Websites, Magazines and Trade Shows for
China's B2B Market

    Franchising China is an important part of Global
Sources products and services enabling local and
international suppliers to sell to China's domestic B2B
market. These include Chief Executive China magazine and
website ( http://www.ceconline.com ), Elegant Living
magazine and website ( http://www.elegantlivingchina.com )
as well as the company's electronics industry focused trade
magazines, websites and events. 

    About Franchising China

    Organized by Global Sources (Nasdaq: GSOL) and
sponsored by Chief Executive China (
http://www.ceconline.com ), Franchising China has been a
pioneer in introducing international franchise exhibitions
to China since 1998. Today, it's the region's premier
multinational franchise event and a prime location for
famous brands seeking business partners. As a result, the
event has earned the repeated support of international
associations such as the International Franchise
Association (IFA), the Franchising and Licensing
Association of Singapore (FLA) and the Malaysia External
Trade Development Corporation (Matrade). Furthermore, the
Shanghai show has received the US Department of Commerce's
trade fair certification.

    Franchising China exhibitors come from the US,
Australia, Italy, Switzerland, Singapore, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Hong Kong and other countries, representing
industries such as retail, food, education, training,
business services and more. Past exhibitors include Subway,
Athlete's Foot and other well-known brands. More than 20,000
visitors attended the 2006 Franchising China exhibition --
80% of whom were senior managers. 

    About Global Sources 

    Global Sources is a leading business-to-business (B2B)
media company and a primary facilitator of two-way trade
with Greater China. The core business is facilitating trade
from Greater China to the world, using a wide range of
English-language media. The other key business segment
facilitates trade from the world to Greater China using
Chinese-language media. 

    The company provides sourcing information to volume
buyers and integrated marketing services to suppliers. It
helps a community of over 647,000 active buyers source more
profitably from complex overseas supply markets. With the
goal of providing the most effective ways possible to
advertise, market and sell, Global Sources enables
suppliers to sell to hard-to-reach buyers in over 230
countries.

    The company offers the most extensive range of media
and export marketing services in the industries it serves.
It delivers information on 2 million products and more than
160,000 suppliers annually through 14 online marketplaces,
13 monthly magazines, over 100 sourcing research reports
and nine specialized trade shows which run 22 times a year
across seven cities. 

    Suppliers receive more than 23 million sales leads
annually from buyers through Global Sources Online (
http://www.globalsources.com ) alone.

    Global Sources has been facilitating global trade for
36 years. In mainland China it has over 2,000 team members
in 44 locations, and a community of over 1 million
registered online users and magazine readers for
Chinese-language media.


    For more information, please contact:

     Global Sources Press Contact in Asia:
      Camellia So
      Tel:   [phone]
      Email: [e-mail] 

     Global Sources Press Contact in U.S.:
      James W.W. Strachan 
      Tel:   [phone]
      Email: [e-mail] 

     Global Sources Investor Contact in Asia:
      Eddie Heng
      Tel:   [phone]
      Email: [e-mail]

     Global Sources Investor Contact in U.S.:
      Moriah Shilton & Christiane Pelz
      Lippert/Heilshorn & Associates, Inc.
      Tel:   [phone] 
      Email: [e-mail]