Thu, Jul 25, 2002 page10

• Tech sector may pick up in late 2003

  • By Annabel Lue / STAFF REPORTER
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  Taiwanese IT manufacturers stand to gain more orders during the second half of 2003 as many companies worldwide increase technology spending beginning early next year, the head of a government think thank said yesterday.

  "Although most forecasts call for the global economy to recover soon ? with no obvious spark to boost consumer confidence and market demand, we do not expect the economy to pick up noticeably in the short term," Victor Tsan (詹文男), managing director of the Market Intelligence Center (MIC, 市場情報中心), said yesterday.

  Tsan said the global economy may grow by just 2 percent in the second half of this year, given weak consumer confidence and low market demand.

  But the outlook for the world economy is more positive in the second half of next year and annual growth could hit 4 percent, he said.

  Tsan made the remarks at a conference yesterday while unveiling MIC's outlook for the domestic IT industry this year.

  According to MIC, the sector will remain healthy this year, though the global economy is still in a slump.

  The center estimates that the nation' IT industry production value this year may grow 20 percent to more than US$69.95 billion.

  Compared with the 10 percent average growth rate during the first half of this year for the global IT industry, Taiwan's technology sector is doing very well, said Joseph Yeh (葉永泰), research director at MIC.

  "Slow business and continuous price competition have driven foreign brand-name vendors to increasingly employ an outsource-to-Taiwan model," Yeh said.

  In addition, well-established production bases set up in China also further enhance the competitiveness of Taiwanese manufacturers over their international rivals.

  MIC believes the information appliance sector will lead an industry rebound.

  "The production value of IA items is estimated to jump 140 percent over last year to US$4.185 billion," Tsan said. "Game consoles such as PlayStation 2 and Xbox especially have strong growth rates."

  As Taiwanese manufacturers improve their ability to make consoles, shipments are also expected to see steady gains.

  Hon Hai Precision Industries Co (鴻海精密) received original equipment manufacturing (OEM) orders from Japan-based Sony early this year for the PlayStation 2. Asustek Computer Inc (華碩) will ship PS2 units in the second half of this year.

  Acer Inc's (宏電) spin-off company, Wistron Inc (緯創資通), has also been licensed by Microsoft to make the Xbox on an OEM basis.

  Publication Notes

  2002 IT sector growth

  * Motherboard shipments are expected to rise 6.6 percent and account for 71.8 percent of the world market. * Notebook PC output is forecast to rise 28.1 percent, taking 60.7 percent of the global market. * Digital camera shipments could rise 10.2 percent, occupying 39 percent of the world market. * CD-RW shipments could grow a whopping 204 percent and take 55 percent of the global market. * Large-sized LCD panel shipments may grow 108.6 percent, for 38 percent of the world market. * Mobile phone unit shipments could grow 109.2 percent, but account for just 6.8 percent of the global market. Source: MIC

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