Foreign buyers are expected to purchase 12 percent more electronics, worth US$28 billion, this year from last year during the annual Computex trade fair in Taipei, strengthening the expectation that the industry was set to stage a dramatic rebound next quarter, organizers said yesterday.
The figure would be equivalent to a 25 percent share of Taiwan’s US$113.6 billion of electronics exports last year, said Walter Yeh (葉明水), executive vice president of the Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA, 外貿協會), co-organizer of the world’s No. 2 computer trade show.
About 36,000 buyers, including 10 heavyweight companies with annual sales of US$1 billion each, are due to visit the exhibition, which would feature Ultrabook computers, smart devices, e-readers and cloud-technology products, Yeh said.
Last year, overseas buyers bought US$25 billion worth of electronic devices during the show, TAITRA said.
This year’s Computex will be the biggest in its 32-year history as the number of booths rose to 5,400, up about two percent from 5,300 booths last year, TAITRA said.
The expansion in the show matched an improvement in business confidence based on a survey conducted by Taipei Computer Association (TCA, 台北市電腦公會), another co-organizer of Computex.
“The confidence index bounced back from a low level in the third and fourth quarters of last year,” said Chang Li (張笠), deputy secretary general of TCA, told a media briefing yesterday.
The latest survey showed that the index rose to 1.62 for next quarter, from 1.26 in the first quarter, indicating that more local companies were optimistic about next quarter’s prospects. A reading of 1.5 means an expectation of flat sales growth for the upcoming quarter.
About 42 percent of respondents were slightly positive about the business outlook for the next quarter, up from 22 percent in the survey conducted the previous quarter.
Samsung Electronics Co has rented 30 booths to showcase their latest products this year, its first appearance in several years after the South Korean electronics giant pulled back from the show, TAITRA said.
Intel Corp, Microsoft Corp, Nvidia Inc and ARM Holdings Inc have also booked space.
Devices equipped with Microsoft’s new operating system, Windows 8, and mobile devices powered by quad-core chips would be the focal point during this year’s trade show, TAITRA said.
Local PC maker Asustek Computer Inc’s (華碩) new PadFone, a mobile device that combines the functions of phones, tablets and notebook, is expected to be unveiled during Computex. Asustek declined to comment on speculation at yesterday’s press conference. The company unveiled new products at the Mobile World Congress last month in Barcelona, Spain.
Taiwan-branded PC maker Acer Inc (宏碁), contract notebook computer maker Quanta Computer Inc (廣達) and electronics manufacturing service provider Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海) will also be showcasing their latest products at Computex.
In total, 1,800 local and foreign companies are set to display their latest products during Computex, TAITRA said. Computex will run from June 5 through June 9, it said.
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