Computex Taipei 2006 to Kick Off on June 6

Taipei, May 30, 2006 (CENS)--The 26th Taipei International Information Technology Show (Computex Taipei 2006), Asia's largest and the world's No. 2 IT trade show, will be held on June 6-10, with all major IT and electronics conglomerates in Taiwan showcasing their latest products at the show with big exhibition booths.

Show organizer TAITRA said that this year's event is expected to attract more than 30,000 foreign buyers and more than 130,000 visitors during the five days, and that the show should introduce a peak sales period in the second half of the year.

TAITRA and co-organizer Taipei Computer Association (TCA) claimed that Computex Taipei is currently the world's second-largest IT trade fair, trailing only CeBIT of Germany. This year, a record of more than 1,300 exhibitors (using more than 2,900 booths) will demonstrate their strengths at the annual event.

Most big local IT companies said that the market demand in the first half was not as strong as originally expected, but it is expected to recover in the second half because the world economy is generally doing well. Numerous foreign buyers, according to the local companies, are expected to place big-ticket orders during the show period for both IT and consumer-electronics products.

The Hon Hai Group, the world's largest maker of barebone PCs, connectors, and game consoles, will integrate with major affiliates to jointly showcase products at the show so as to expand contact opportunities.

Industry sources said that the Computex Taipei has long been a major platform for the interactions between local motherboard makers and foreign distributors. All major Taiwanese motherboard suppliers, including Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co. Ltd., Asustek Computer Inc., Giga-Byte Technology Co., Ltd., Elitegroup Computer Systems Co., Ltd., and Micro-Star International will strive to win more orders from overseas buyers at Computex.

The sources also pointed out that many big international brands are also very interested in new and innovative consumer-electronics products developed by local companies, including Digital Home products, portable multimedia players (PMP), and MP3 players.

Another major focus of the Computex Taipei 2006 will be the CompuForum, which will center on the Digital Entertainment, Digital Home, Digital Future, 2D (DRAM and LCD), Automotive Infotainment, wireless local area network (WLAN), and Multimedia lines.

Computex Taipei 2006
Description		2004	2005	2006
Booths		2,828	2,853	2,900
Visitors	Overseas	26,221	28,254	30,000
	Local	91,934	101,639	103,000
	Total	118,155	129,947	133,000
Source: TAITRA.