Engineering and electronics exports expected to grow

The amount of exported mechanical engineering and electronics goods in the second half of the year is expected to grow 4 percent over the first six months, driven mainly by rising orders for electrical components, a local association said yesterday.

"The prospects for the second half will be much better, due to increasing orders for electrical components, especially semiconductors and thin-film-transistor liquid-crystal-displays," said David Chen (陳文義), executive vice president of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (TEEMA, 電電公會).

The improved outlook is also attributed to the fact that around two-thirds of the entire year's exports will be during the July-to-December period, he said, projecting that the sector will report 5 percent growth this year compared with last year.

The sector's exports amounted to US$40.54 billion for the first eight months, indicating a marginal growth of 1.3 percent over the same period last year, according to statistics provided by TEEMA.

Chen made the remarks on the sidelines of a press conference yesterday, which announced the upcoming Taipei International Electronics Show "Taitronics Autumn 2005."

Scheduled to run from Oct. 11 to 15 at Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Halls I, II and III, the exposition is expected to attract over 40,000 overseas and local buyers, up from 32,000 last year, said Kevin Wei (魏光勛), executive director of the exhibition department at Taiwan External Trade Development Council (外貿協會), which co-organizes the expo with TEEMA.

There will be 1,300 exhibitors participating in this year's exhibition, occupying up to 3,000 booths, he added.

In addition to exhibitions and procurement seminars, Taitronics Autumn 2005 will feature three major forums, including the Taipei International Automotive Electronics Forum, CARTS Asia as well as the Autumn Telecom Forum.

The automotive forum offers a business platform for international experts and industry leaders to discuss the current status and future trends of the booming automotive electronics industry, which will present business opportunities totaling US$163.4 billion globally by 2008, TEEMA said.

International heavyweights joining the discussions will include Motorola Inc's automotive unit, BMW and Robert Bosch Japan, while local companies such as China Motor Corp (中華汽車) and Yulon Motor Co (裕隆汽車) will also take part.

Meanwhile, CARTS Asia is a forum targeted at the Asian passive components industry and attendees will be exposed to the latest ideas and solutions. It offers engineers and designers information on capacitors, resistors and other passive components.

The Autumn Telecom Forum will bring together international participants from the US, Japan, Europe and China, to discuss telecom technology trends and product planning over the next five years, organizers said.