Hon Hai chief drives firm with discipline, efficiency

"Every commercial activity ultimately aims to make a profit. With Foxconn's name on a motherboard, we can make US$1, or US$2 more for each unit," he said, but added that doing consumer electronics brand business is a completely different thing, he said.

Foxconn is Hon Hai's registered trade name and the company sells motherboards and other products under that brand.

Go said it is too tough for most Taiwanese companies to run a brand, especially if they choose to do brand marketing, manufacturing and research and development all by themselves with limited resources, while an established global brand like Apple Computer Inc focuses on marketing.

More importantly, "there is no home market to support local firms' operations," Gou said. "What is the probability of running a successful brand for local firms? You do the math," he said.

BenQ Chairman Lee Kun-yao (李焜耀), however, thinks the own-brand business, though risky, may be a better option for local electronics makers facing ever-shrinking profit margins than endlessly trying to cut costs as Hon Hai and others have done.

With his iron will, Gou has made Hon Hai a profit-making machine over the past 30 years. The challenge now is whether he can really steer the company toward better profitability in such a fickle industry.