Despite tougher competition and unfavorable economic sentiment, Taiwan's electrical and electronics industries will still see improved prospects in the second half of the year over the first, several companies said yesterday.
"The notebook component segment this year will outperform last year," said Gary Lin (
His company is one of the 1,300 exhibitors taking part in the Taipei International Electronics Show "Taitronics Autumn 2005," which kicked off yesterday.
Excel Cell Electronic, which mainly supplies notebook components and industrial switches, will see a 30 percent rise in orders this year over last year, Lin said, since notebooks are fast becoming a more affordable commodity and are gradually replacing desktop computers for the general public.
Driven by the upcoming holiday season in the next two months, the company's notebook-component orders increased by 30 percent in the third quarter compared to the second, he said.
Meanwhile, Powertip Technology Co (
"We will be able to reach our goal of NT$3.4 billion by the end of this year," said Jason Wang (
The display-component segment is expected to record single-digit marginal growth this year due to the stiffer competition, he said.
To outperform rivals, firms now have to diversify their product portfolios into new application areas and launch more offerings to capture market share, he said.
Exports of electrical and electronics goods in the second half of the year are expected to grow 4 percent over the first six months, David Chen (陳文義), executive vice president of the Taiwan Electrical and Electronics Manufacturers Association (TEEMA, 電電公會), said last Wednesday.
The expansion is driven mainly by rising orders for components, especially semiconductors and thin-film-transistor liquid crystal displays, and due to the fact that around two-thirds of the entire year's exports will fall during the July-to-December period, he said.
The industry's exports amounted to US$40.54 billion for the first eight months of the year, up 1.3 percent over the same period last year, according to TEEMA's statistics.
Minister of Economic Affairs Ho Mei-yueh (
"We have only one way to retain the industry's competitiveness, which is to find niche markets to create more added value," Ho said at the opening of Taitronics Autumn 2005 yesterday.
These niches include automobile components, Internet protocol telecommunications and green solutions that comply with the EU's environmentally friendly regulations, Ho said.
The show runs until Saturday at Taipei World Trade Center Exhibition Halls I, II and III. The exposition is expected to attract more than 40,000 overseas and local buyers, up from 32,000 last year.
Even though local electronics companies face an increasing threat from cheaper Chinese competitors, many overseas buyers still prefer made-in-Taiwan products.
"Companies here know the European demand better than their Chinese counterparts," said Brian Dehlsen, a manager with the Danish firm Cabcon Electromechanical Design, was among the hordes of buyers at the expo yesterday.
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