Vietnam Currency Discussion Board

[buckets]

World leading computer maker eyes Vietnam for expansion


Compal, the world's No.2 contract laptop PC maker, said Monday it was evaluating possible expansion into Vietnam in 2008 and 2009, to increase capacity outside of its current main manufacturing hub in China

"We see Vietnam as a good place to move our low-end products" Compal Electronics' President Ray Chen told an investor conference.

Compal could join the growing number of Taiwanese electronic companies investing in Vietnam – such as component maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co – in pursuit more cost-effective manufacturing sites outside China.

The Chinese-language Economic Daily News earlier this month quoted a company spokesman as saying that Compal would finalize the timetable and location for its new plant in Vietnam in the second quarter at the earliest.

Compal and its component suppliers were scheduled visit Vietnam to scout for factory sites and business opportunities, the report said.

Compal, which supplies computers to Dell Inc and other big brands, could lack the capacity to match customers' demand next year if its shipments increase any faster, especially after adding Japanese computer vendor Toshiba Corp to its client portfolio this year, according to the report.

Lower wages and better preferential tax breaks promised by the Vietnamese government could be prime factors for choosing Vietnam, Compal chairman Rock Hsu said earlier this year.

Cost efficiency is usually a major factor for Taiwanese electronics companies, which mostly make products for global brands.

In addition, Vietnam is a springboard for Taiwanese electronics companies hoping to tap ASEAN markets, Hsu said.

Source: Reuters

http://www.thanhniennews.com/business/?catid=2&newsid=27396