Funerals fit for an industry
Death trade goes green and high-tech at Hong Kong expo
HONG KONG: Death is inevitable, but it does not have to be bad for the environment.
Caskets made of paper and wicker coffins on display at a recent Hong Kong funeral industry trade fair highlighted a trend toward “green burials” in an industry booming as Asia’s population rapidly ages.
The mood was bright, not funereal, as coffin makers, morticians, funeral home operators and entrepreneurs converged in Hong Kong this week for the Asia Funeral and Cemetery Expo and Conference.
Participants were pitching caskets for pets, Italian hearses, German cremators with high-tech filters and Japanese mobile embalming units.
From China, Truthkobo Jewelry offered pendants made with ashes from deceased relatives or pets while Shenyang Roundfin was looking for international distributors for its autopsy tables, morgue fridges and body bags.
The death industry is a lucrative market: Asia’s ageing population is projected to hit 923 million by midcentury, according to the Asian Development Bank.
The region’s funeral services market has grown steadily and is now worth about US$62.6bil (RM270.8bil) a year, with China accounting for nearly half that, according to market research firm Euromonitor.
“This is a very promising indus- try in China,” said Gloria Chuang, marketing director at China-based Yu Fu Xiang Memorial Group.
But she said the industry in China needs to expand and modernise. Most funeral home operators are family-run outfits that are not transparent about prices and other infor- mation for services and products like coffins and urns, she said.
That is partly because, as in many places, talk of death is taboo.
“A lot of the funeral service industry is backwards,” she said. “Our culture dictates that Chinese people are very sensitive to talk about matters of death. Therefore, this industry has become a very closed one.”
However, she added, attitudes are changing and demand is growing for more personalised service as children of the older generation get wealthier and more tech savvy.
Cultural sensitivities regarding death are starting to ease, making it more acceptable to talk about preparing for the afterlife, she said.
The prospect of lucrative investments even drew investors from outside the industry to the fair.
Property dealer Piyanuch Wattanasirita nan wong and a friend came from Thailand after hearing about the show from a contact.
“We want to know what opportunities there are in this industry because everybody dies,” she said.