Strong economic growth, coupled with a sustained construction boom in China will ensure strong demand for electronic physical access controls in Asia, according to a new report by IMS Research.
Use of access control equipment in Asia is much less widespread than in other parts of the world. However, awareness and acceptance of the technology are both rapidly increasing, driven by the omnipresent terrorist threat and influx of Western access control companies attracted by the high growth potential the Asian market offers. IMS Research predicts the Asian market for electronic physical access control equipment will reach $460.2m in 2009, with a forecast compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16.3 per cent.
China has become an increasingly important market for access control manufacturers, according to the research. While the Chinese government has reduced its spending on infrastructure this year in an attempt to slow the rapid economic growth seen in 2004, the construction industry is still booming with apartment blocks shooting up across Chinaโs big cities. In addition there are several major building projects in the pipeline, such as the summer Olympics in Beijing and the World Expo in Shanghai, that will drive growth for security equipment, such as access controls. Although the final security budget for the summer Olympics has not yet been fixed, the total expenditure is expected to exceed $300m, according to the researchers.
What they say
Paul Everett, the report author at IMS research said: "Despite technology being so advanced in Asia there are still a large number of buildings that are yet to install access control equipment. In Japan for example, there are very few access control manufacturers and hence very little access control equipment is used. As a result there is huge potential for companies to move in and take advantage of this untapped market.โ
China potential
China is undeniably the market with the greatest potential in the 21st century for suppliers of access controls and international companies are fighting for position. Consequently China has become a fierce battlefield, according to the research, with a large number of domestic and foreign security manufacturers competing for business. IMS Research forecasts that by 2009 China will emerge as the largest market in Asia for access control equipment, with 31.5pc of the market.
