Information hardware production seen growing

Taiwan's information industry hardware production is expected to experience 9.4 percent growth next year despite negative growth in production value this year, an adviser of the Institute for Infor-mation Industry (資策會) said yesterday.

Wang Sheng-hun, adviser of the institute's Market Intelligence Center (市場情報中心), said that Taiwan's information industry hardware production ranked fourth in the world this year, ahead of Great Britain and behind the US, Japan and China.

However, Taiwan is the only country among the top five nations in information industry hardware production that recorded negative growth this year, thanks to the global economic slump and especially the sluggish US economy.

Wang noted that US consumer confidence suffered a blow in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on America. Noting that the US market makes up 40 percent of the world's information market, Wang said Taiwan's hardware industry has been significantly affected, experiencing negative growth, of 9.2 percent, for the first time ever this year.

But with the US military campaign against Afghanistan drawing to an end and with the expected shopping spree during the Christmas holidays, Wang predicted that Taiwan's information hardware production for next year will hit US$46.69 billion for a growth of 9.4 percent, or slightly less than the peak growth rate last year.

He added that Taiwan may have to wait until 2003 when businesses begin to change computer systems in a three-year cycle before growth in Taiwan's information hardware production value surpasses the level seen last year.

In terms of individual sectors, Wang is painting a rosy picture for the notebook computer, liquid crystal display and digital camera sectors which he forecasts will have the largest growth next year at 20.1 percent, 88.4 percent and 36.9 percent, respectively.

Servers have been included for assessment for the first time this year, and Wang said that if Taiwan manufacturers are to remain competitive, they will have to produce high value added server products. He predicted a 37.2 percent growth next year for Taiwan manufacturers in this sector.

In addition, he said that after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, many information giants have asked for local manufacturing and assembly, and that Taiwan manufacturers, faced with such needs as well as with the expected expansion of China's domestic market after the country's WTO entry, will need to move westward to China.

The Market Intelligence Center predicted that the ratio of Taiwan notebook computer manufacturing moving overseas will increase to 40 percent, with 37 percent in China.