Industry leaders attending the Taipei Computer Association’s (TCA, 台北市電腦公會) annual meeting yesterday said that they expect Taiwanese tech companies to see “continued demand” in the next three to six months.
Pegatron Corp (和碩) chairman and TCA honorary chairman Tung Tzu-hsien (童子賢) said there was “no need to worry” about fluctuating orders for the next three to six months.
“Overall, supply is outstripping demand,” Tung said. “Orders are piling up for many companies due to the work-from-home and distance-learning trends.”
Photo: Chen Mei-ying, Taipei Times
“Taiwan is a fortunate Shangri-la where life and work continue as usual,” he added.
CURRENCY APPRECIATION
Asked about the effect of the New Taiwan dollar’s appreciation on the competitiveness of Taiwanese products, Tung said that the nation’s monetary policy should not be based solely on its impact on exporters.
“It would be irregular to try and push down [the NT dollar] for the benefit of exporters,” Tung said. “To do so is detrimental to our consumers.”
Taiwan has regularly accrued large trade surpluses in the past few years, he said.
“This would inevitably lead to trading partners wondering if the exchange rate of the NT dollar is not where it is supposed to be,” he said.
At the same meeting, LCD panel maker AU Optronics Corp (AUO, 友達光電) chairman Paul Peng (彭双浪), who is also the TCA chairman, said that he expects Taiwan’s information and communications technology (ICT) industry to keep booming through the first half of next year.
“The supply of monitors and related components is going to be tight for the first half of 2021,” Peng said.
SHORTAGES
Given a shortage of semiconductors and tight supply of glass substates, flat panels for laptop computers are especially in short supply, Peng said.
“We can only supply half of the demand for monitors for Chromebooks, which are in high demand due to distance learning,” he said, adding that the order visibility for AUO has extended into the first half of next year.
Commenting on the strength of the NT dollar, Peng said that he expects the local currency to further appreciate.
Taiwanese companies would have to make “structural cost adjustments,” in addition to hedging, he said.
Asked about the riots at a Wistron Corp (緯創) factory in India, Peng viewed it as an “isolated incident” and said it would not affect the trend of companies’ diversifying investments abroad.
“Taiwanese factories often have to work through local labor, legal and environmental issues,” Peng said.
“There are a lot of cultural and even religious factors to take into consideration before we can successfully meld with the locals,” he said.
“Localized supply chains are now a trend, and it is up to companies to figure out how to work harmoniously with local people and governments,” he said.
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