Taiwan's ABIT, India's Kobian to tie up on motherboard business

Taipei, Nov. 10, 2004 (CENS)--Taiwan's motherboard maker ABIT Computer Corp. will soon sign an agreement to tie up with Kobian Pte. Ltd. In India and hopes to get a 50% share of the Indian market.

Kobian, with its products marketed under the brand of "Mercury" (one of the top-four motherboard brands in India), is a Singapore-incorporated firm with operations rooted in India. ABIT is a major motherboard maker in Taiwan, producing motherboards, VGA cards and other computer peripherals. ABIT said that related cooperation details would be publicized soon after they're approved by the director boards of the two firms.

According to a senior official of ABIT, Kobian currently focuses mainly on lower-level motherboard products and hopes to tie up with ABIT on high-level items. With the tie-up, ABIT hopes to get a 50% share of India's motherboard market in the near future.

Quite a few ABIT's major rivals in Taiwan have moved to tap the Indian market for a long period. Asustek Computer Inc., No. 1 in Taiwan, set up a branch office in India in April this year and is considering setting up a production plant in there. Giga-Byte Technology Co., Ltd. Is commissioning D-Link Corp. to assemble motherboards in the market. Hon Hai Precision Ind. Co. Ltd., the world's largest maker of barebone PCs, connectors and TV game consoles as well as a fast-rising motherboard maker, is also mulling establishing a big motherboard plant in India so as to win more contract business from big international brands.

With a total population of over one billion, India is market with great sales potential. About three million PCs are expected to be sold in India this year, and a sales growth of 20% to 30% is expected for the market next year, higher than the growth in the mainland Chinese market. The strong growth potential has attracted all major international information technology (IT) brands to join the market, including HP, Dell, Acer, BenQ, Asus, Giga-Byte and Elite.

Currently, Intel, Asustek, Giga-Byte and Kobian are the top-four motherboard brands in India with a combined market share of 70% there. Kobian once was the No. 1 brand in India, but its leading position was replaced by foreign brands in recent years.

The Indian government levies 37% tariff and commodity tax on imported motherboards, forcing foreign brands to set up plants in India to get cost competitiveness, industry sources said.