Shipments of notebook computers from the nation are expected to further expand in the fourth quarter from the previous three months, bolstered mainly by the upcoming Christmas period and a slew of lower-priced models, industry analysts said yesterday at a press briefing.
Fourth-quarter shipments for portable computers will reach 15 million to 18 million units, with an output value of US$9.08 billion, according to the latest report from the Market Intelligence Center (MIC,
It represents an increase of 13.7 percent in shipments over the third quarter and a rise of 42.2 percent from the same period of last year, MIC added.
"The Christmas buying season and aggressiveness from vendors promoting lower-end models will remain the two strongest drivers in the fourth quarter," said Cynthia Chyn (秦素霞), the center's deputy general director.
Taiwan, already the world's largest notebook computer manufacturer, will see its market share grow even larger this year, up to 82.41 percent from last year's 72.30 percent, Chyn said.
The gradual replacement of desktops by notebooks, coupled with big names such as Dell Inc and Hewlett-Packard Co pushing cheaper models, are set to benefit Taiwanese vendors, as these companies outsource their production to companies here, she said.
"Currently, there are only a small percentage of Japanese vendors producing notebooks in-house, and South Korean players are slowly withdrawing from the original design manufacturing space, leaving the main chunk of work to Taiwanese vendors," Chyn said.
According to estimates from the Taipei-based market researcher, worldwide notebook shipments will rise by 28.9 percent this year from last year, totaling 59.5 million units. Next year's growth will slow slightly to 19.8 percent.
The replacement trend and low-priced models will continue to be the main factors behind growth next year, but the impact will be minimized since these trends have been taking center stage this year, notebook analyst Albert Chen (陳立恆) said.
However, the shortage of Intel chipsets and an outbreak of avian flu could impact people's willingness to spend, and might prove to be unforeseen hindrances to healthy growth, he said.
Acer Inc, Taiwan's third largest notebook maker by market value, is seen as the rising star among Asian brandname notebook makers, as its shipments are projected to rise by a strong 40 percent next year, he said.
The company's aggressiveness in the low-priced notebook lineup, its understanding of European markets and successful channel deployment will ensure success on the world stage next year, Chen said.
Meanwhile, desktop shipments from Taiwanese companies will hit 10.38 million units in the fourth quarter, expanding by 9.9 percent compared with the same period of last year, MIC's statistics showed.
The growth is attributed to strong demand in emerging markets including central and southern America, and higher spending in the enterprise segment, Chen added.
Taichung reported the steepest fall in completed home prices among the six special municipalities in the first quarter of this year, data compiled by Taiwan Realty Co (台灣房屋) showed yesterday. From January through last month, the average transaction price for completed homes in Taichung fell 8 percent from a year earlier to NT$299,000 (US$9,483) per ping (3.3m²), said Taiwan Realty, which compiled the data based on the government’s price registration platform. The decline could be attributed to many home buyers choosing relatively affordable used homes to live in themselves, instead of newly built homes in the city’s prime property market, Taiwan Realty
The government yesterday approved applications by Alphabet Inc’s Google to invest NT$27.08 billion (US$859.98 million) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said in a statement. The Department of Investment Review approved two investments proposed by Google, with much of the funds to be used for data processing and electronic information supply services, as well as inventory procurement businesses in the semiconductor field, the ministry said. It marks the second consecutive year that Google has applied to increase its investment in Taiwan. Google plans to infuse NT$25.34 billion into Charter Investments Ltd (特許投資顧問) through its Singapore-based subsidiary Fructan Holdings Singapore Pte Ltd, and
JET JUICE: The war on Iran’s secondary effects have seen fuel prices skyrocket, knocking flight schedules down to earth in return as airlines struggle with costs Airline passengers should brace for more irritation in the next few months as carriers worldwide cancel flights and ground planes to cope with stratospheric increases in jet-fuel prices. Dutch flag carrier KLM is the latest company to cut its schedule, saying on Thursday that it would scrap 80 return flights at Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport in the coming month. That puts it in the same league as United Airlines Holdings Inc, Deutsche Lufthansa AG and Cathay Pacific Airways Ltd, which have all pruned itineraries to mitigate costs. Global capacity for next month has been reduced by about 3 percentage points, with all
The US said it plans to help build a first-of-its-kind industrial hub in the Philippines to boost production of inputs crucial to US supply chains. The 4,000-acre hub is intended to be “a purpose-built platform for allied manufacturing” and “an investment acceleration hub where the specific industrial activities are shaped by market demand,” the US Department of State said on Thursday. The project — touted as an “economic security zone” — would be within the Luzon Economic Corridor, a flagship economic project backed by the US and Japan on the main Philippine island. The project was also described as “the first artificial intelligence
RSS