Computex is expected to draw US$20 billion in business opportunities for local information and communications technology (ICT) companies, the event’s organizers said yesterday at a press briefing.
Computex, the world’s second-largest computer show after CeBIT in Germany, is scheduled to be held from June 2 through June 6 at the Taipei World Trade Centers in the Nangang and Xinyi districts of Taipei.
This year’s Computex has been over-subscribed, with 1,700 exhibitors taking 4,600 booths, and the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會) is getting ready to accommodate a projected turnout of 35,000 international buyers, TAITRA executive vice president Walter Yeh (葉明水) said.
With the warming of cross-strait relations, this year’s Computex will feature an 80-booth China pavilion for the first time, featuring brands from China such as Tsinghua Tongfang Co (清華東方), Huawei Technologies Co (華為) and MALATA Mobile Communication Co (萬利達移動通信).
Other than product launches of items including PC systems, peripherals, motherboards and components, the two main features of this year’s Computex will be worldwide interoperability for microwave access (WiMAX) technology and trends in the mobile Internet market, Yeh said.
Taiwan has invested heavily in WiMAX technology, with license holders Tatung InfoComm Co (大同電信) and Vmax Telecom Co (威邁思) commencing operations at their stations by June, while Global Mobile Corp (全球一動) and Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) have rescheduled their launch dates to the third or fourth quarter at the latest.
“By March 20 next year, all WiMAX licenses will have expired, so local operators will have to launch before that deadline. We can expect many associated products to be developed and exhibited at Computex this year,” Mike Lin (林智清), a consultant at the Taipei Computer Association (台北市電腦公會), joint organizer of the event, said yesterday.
Chen Ching-wen (陳文清), director at Topology Research Institute (拓墣產業), said the mobile Internet sector would be a main feature at the show particularly because of Taiwan’s unique strength in the mobile PC supply chain.
TARIFF TRADE-OFF: Machinery exports to China dropped after Beijing ended its tariff reductions in June, while potential new tariffs fueled ‘front-loaded’ orders to the US The nation’s machinery exports to the US amounted to US$7.19 billion last year, surpassing the US$6.86 billion to China to become the largest export destination for the local machinery industry, the Taiwan Association of Machinery Industry (TAMI, 台灣機械公會) said in a report on Jan. 10. It came as some manufacturers brought forward or “front-loaded” US-bound shipments as required by customers ahead of potential tariffs imposed by the new US administration, the association said. During his campaign, US president-elect Donald Trump threatened tariffs of as high as 60 percent on Chinese goods and 10 percent to 20 percent on imports from other countries.
Taiwanese manufacturers have a chance to play a key role in the humanoid robot supply chain, Tongtai Machine and Tool Co (東台精機) chairman Yen Jui-hsiung (嚴瑞雄) said yesterday. That is because Taiwanese companies are capable of making key parts needed for humanoid robots to move, such as harmonic drives and planetary gearboxes, Yen said. This ability to produce these key elements could help Taiwanese manufacturers “become part of the US supply chain,” he added. Yen made the remarks a day after Nvidia Corp cofounder and chief executive officer Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) said his company and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) are jointly
United Microelectronics Corp (UMC, 聯電) expects its addressable market to grow by a low single-digit percentage this year, lower than the overall foundry industry’s 15 percent expansion and the global semiconductor industry’s 10 percent growth, the contract chipmaker said yesterday after reporting the worst profit in four-and-a-half years in the fourth quarter of last year. Growth would be fueled by demand for artificial intelligence (AI) servers, a moderate recovery in consumer electronics and an increase in semiconductor content, UMC said. “UMC’s goal is to outgrow our addressable market while maintaining our structural profitability,” UMC copresident Jason Wang (王石) told an online earnings
MARKET SHIFTS: Exports to the US soared more than 120 percent to almost one quarter, while ASEAN has steadily increased to 18.5 percent on rising tech sales The proportion of Taiwan’s exports directed to China, including Hong Kong, declined by more than 12 percentage points last year compared with its peak in 2020, the Ministry of Finance said on Thursday last week. The decrease reflects the ongoing restructuring of global supply chains, driven by escalating trade tensions between Beijing and Washington. Data compiled by the ministry showed China and Hong Kong accounted for 31.7 percent of Taiwan’s total outbound sales last year, a drop of 12.2 percentage points from a high of 43.9 percent in 2020. In addition to increasing trade conflicts between China and the US, the ministry said
RSS