Manufacturers happy with Computex

Taiwanese manufacturers foresee a brighter second half as record-high attendance at the world's second-biggest computer fair in Taipei appeared to be evidence of rising demand for locally made electronics.

Computex Taipei, which is seen as a general indicator for future IT demand, attracted more than 30,000 overseas visitors during its five-day run, the most ever, according to one of the organizers, the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會).

The association had originally estimated that the fair would draw 29,000 overseas visitors. The overall visitors tally set a record high of more than 130,000, it said.

The show ended yesterday, allowing traffic to return to normal in Taipei's bustling Shinyi district, home to the world's tallest building, Taipei 101.

"We feel the second half [of the year] will be better than the first half," said Sheaffer Lee (李錫華), president of mobile phone brand BenQ Corp (明基), on the sideline of a press conference for Computex.

BenQ expects handset sales to jump 30 percent on a quarterly basis this quarter and growth looks strong for the second half of the year as well.

BenQ became the world's No.6 cellphone vendor overnight after it took over money-losing Siemens AG's mobile unit last year.

Lee said the computer show provided a venue for manufacturers to exchange their views about industrial trends. Only a small portion of orders were placed during the show, he said.

The association said the show brings orders worth several billion US dollars a year for Taiwanese manufacturers.

Computer memory chipmakers also expect chip prices to pick up on the back of growing demand as users upgrade their desktop computers in preparation for Microsoft Corp's new operating system.

"Our factories are fully loaded," Peter Ting (丁振鐸), vice president of Taiwan's top memory chipmaker, Powerchip Semiconductor Corp (力晶半導體), told reporters after giving a speech at one of the forums held during Computex.

The launch of Microsoft Corp's Vista operating system in the second half of the year and the anticipated price cut for Intel Corp's microprocessors prior to the launch of its new due-core chips will stimulate computer sales and thereby memory chips over the next six months, Ding said.

Limited supply of the new chips would also provide an upside for the industry, said Pai Pei-lin (白培霖), a spokesman for Taiwan's second-largest memory chip maker Nanya Technology Co (南亞科技), which supplies chips to big name computer names such as Dell Inc.

There was, however, a cloud hovering over this year's Computex -- there were fewer new products or display themes, such as last year's digital home.

"Nothing much," said one salesperson, who asked not to be identified, when asked how many brand new products were making their first public appearance at the show.

Most of the new items on display had made their debut at the International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, back in March, he said.