The Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) announced yesterday that it won the right to operate an exhibition hall in Taipei City's Nangang District for 10 years, which would help expand the scale of Computex Taipei, Asia's largest computer expo.
Construction for the Nangang exhibition hall, with a capacity up to 2,800 booths, is expected to be complete by April next year and the hall will begin operations in 2008.
"With the current sites and the hall, we have more than 5,000 booths and no need to turn down any exhibitors due to limited space, as in the past," TAITRA Secretary-General Chao Yung-chuan (
PHOTO: WALLY SANTANA, AP
TAITRA and the Taipei Computer Association (TCA,
This year's show is the largest ever, with 1,312 exhibitors showcasing their wares at 2,907 booths, according to the organizers. The five-day exhibition will draw an estimated 150,000 visitors, including more than 30,000 overseas buyers that may place orders of more than US$1 billion, the organizers said.
With the new exhibition hall ready for use in 2008, Taipei will have a chance to challenge the largest computer expo in the world, which is currently CeBIT in Hannover, Germany, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
In his opening remarks, Frank Huang (
Intel Corp and Advanced Micro Devices Inc have continued to push their dual-core microprocessors, which are more powerful and energy-efficient, and were a highlight of last year's show.
Despite the absence of "killer" applications or products this year, local IT leaders such as Acer Inc, Asustek Computer Inc (
One product fresh for local consumers is the Ultra Mobile PC (UMPC), which was unveiled at CeBIT and has already hit markets in Japan, Europe and the US.
UMPCs, small tablet PCs with an on-screen keyboard, were introduced this year by Microsoft and were formerly code-named "Origami." They are popular among users due to their portability.
One major maker of UMPCs is Samsung Electronic Corp, which started to sell them last month.
Taiwanese companies who have developed and showcased their products at the show include Asustek and Amtek System Co (奐億科技).
Amtek priced its UMPCs, powered by a VIA Technologies Inc (
The show runs from 9:30am to 6pm. The last day of the event will be open to the general public, with admission of NT$200 per person.
ISSUES: Gogoro has been struggling with ballooning losses and was recently embroiled in alleged subsidy fraud, using Chinese-made components instead of locally made parts Gogoro Inc (睿能創意), the nation’s biggest electric scooter maker, yesterday said that its chairman and CEO Horace Luke (陸學森) has resigned amid chronic losses and probes into the company’s alleged involvement in subsidy fraud. The board of directors nominated Reuntex Group (潤泰集團) general counsel Tamon Tseng (曾夢達) as the company’s new chairman, Gogoro said in a statement. Ruentex is Gogoro’s biggest stakeholder. Gogoro Taiwan general manager Henry Chiang (姜家煒) is to serve as acting CEO during the interim period, the statement said. Luke’s departure came as a bombshell yesterday. As a company founder, he has played a key role in pushing for the
China has claimed a breakthrough in developing homegrown chipmaking equipment, an important step in overcoming US sanctions designed to thwart Beijing’s semiconductor goals. State-linked organizations are advised to use a new laser-based immersion lithography machine with a resolution of 65 nanometers or better, the Chinese Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) said in an announcement this month. Although the note does not specify the supplier, the spec marks a significant step up from the previous most advanced indigenous equipment — developed by Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group Co (SMEE, 上海微電子) — which stood at about 90 nanometers. MIIT’s claimed advances last
CROSS-STRAIT TENSIONS: The US company could switch orders from TSMC to alternative suppliers, but that would lower chip quality, CEO Jensen Huang said Nvidia Corp CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳), whose products have become the hottest commodity in the technology world, on Wednesday said that the scramble for a limited amount of supply has frustrated some customers and raised tensions. “The demand on it is so great, and everyone wants to be first and everyone wants to be most,” he told the audience at a Goldman Sachs Group Inc technology conference in San Francisco. “We probably have more emotional customers today. Deservedly so. It’s tense. We’re trying to do the best we can.” Huang’s company is experiencing strong demand for its latest generation of chips, called
GLOBAL ECONOMY: Policymakers have a choice of a small 25 basis-point cut or a bold cut of 50 basis points, which would help the labor market, but might reignite inflation The US Federal Reserve is gearing up to announce its first interest rate cut in more than four years on Wednesday, with policymakers expected to debate how big a move to make less than two months before the US presidential election. Senior officials at the US central bank including Fed Chairman Jerome Powell have in recent weeks indicated that a rate cut is coming this month, as inflation eases toward the bank’s long-term target of two percent, and the labor market continues to cool. The Fed, which has a dual mandate from the US Congress to act independently to ensure