Foxconn has high hopes for its graphics cards

Foxconn International Holdings Ltd (富士康控股), a unit of the nation's biggest electronics equipment maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密), yesterday said it is hoping to ship 1 million units of its own-brand graphic cards by year's end.

"Graphics cards are a brand-new market for us and it signifies our entrance into high-end computer components markets," said Christin Wang (王文玉), global marketing manager at Foxconn's channel service division, told a press briefing held in conjunction with the Computex Taipei trade show yesterday.

By making a foray into the mature and competitive graphics card market, Foxconn will go head-to-head with big names such as Asustek Computer Inc (華碩電腦), Elitegroup Computer Systems Co (精英電腦), Gigabyte Technology Co (技嘉科技) and Micro-Star International Co (微星科技).

"We will integrate our available PC component resources such as connectors, coolers, chassis, motherboards and now graphics cards, to create a platform to our channel customers," Wang said, explaining the company's advantages in its new markets.

In March the company had a "soft launch" of its first batch of graphics cards at CeBIT, the world's largest information technology expo, held each year in Hannover, Germany. With orders currently coming in, the company said its first shipments will go out by the end of next month.

Aiming at the gaming enthusiasts' market, the company yesterday launched its lineup of feature-rich and fast-performing motherboards and graphics cards based on graphic-chip designer Nvidia Corp's solutions.

With these high-end products, Foxconn is setting its sights on niche markets, Wang said.

"We hope to offer mainstream products to clients, and these new launches respond to customers' demand for high-end components," she said.

Meanwhile, Foxconn has set a target of shipping 8 million branded motherboards this year, she added.

Hon Hai, which just entered the motherboard business in 2004, became the world's No. 2 motherboard maker after Asustek last year, with total shipments hitting 40 million units, including 6 million branded units.

Hon Hai's first-quarter motherboard shipments grew 138 percent over same period last year, fueled by Chinese and Russian markets, according to a report from the Chinese-language DigiTimes yesterday.

According to Wang, the Shenzhen-based Foxconn will continue to pave the way for Hon Hai's brandname component efforts.

"The past two years were exciting and challenging for us, as people were getting to know more about the `Foxconn' brand," Wang said, referring to her division set up in the fourth quarter of 2004 to promote the brand and service channels.

Hon Hai is proving to other electronics makers that a company can survive by pursuing contract business and own-brand business at the same time, by selling branded components to channel partners, she said.

"We will not produce finished electronics goods bearing our brand, and this will not conflict with our contract clientele," Wang added.