Hewlett-Packard Co (HP), the world’s top PC vendor, plans to expand its orders from Taiwanese electronics suppliers, including Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) and Quanta Computer Inc (廣達電腦), to US$30 billion this year, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday.
Last year, HP procured US$24 billion in goods from Taiwan, making the US company the biggest buyer of Taiwan-made electronics products for the 10th year in a row, the ministry said in a statement.
That was a significant increase from US$5 billion in 2000, the ministry said.
R&D
Additionally, HP plans to spend NT$3.6 billion on research and development over the next three years, according to the statement.
Notebook computer manufacturers Compal Electronics Inc (仁寶電腦) and Wistron Corp (緯創), as well as TPV Technology Ltd (冠捷), the world’s biggest LCD monitor maker, are also HP partners.
NO PRICE HIKE
Separately, HP and South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co will not adjust their notebook computer prices in the near term, despite a likely price hike in memory chips, the companies said on Thursday.
Japan’s Elpida Memory Inc announced on Feb. 27 that it had filed for bankruptcy protection with the Tokyo District Court with debts of about ¥448 billion (US$5.56 billion).
The world’s No. 3 DRAM maker accounts for about 15 percent of the global monthly DRAM capacity of 1 million wafers, with 80,000 coming from its plant in Hiroshima, Japan, and 70,000 from its Taiwanese subsidiary, Rexchip Electronics Inc (瑞晶電子).
Tony Chou (周信宏), vice president and general manager of HP Taiwan’s personal systems group, said he could not comment on Elpida’s filing, but added that HP “has no plans at present to raise notebook prices.”
“We will keep an eye on the situation. It’s a short-term issue after all,” he said on the sidelines of a company event.
“We have DRAM contracts with suppliers, but I can’t comment on the duration of the contracts,” he said.
IN-HOUSE COMPONENTS
Meanwhile, Samsung said its notebook prices would not be affected even if DRAM prices go up, citing in-house component supplies.
“We will not act with the market. We have our own positioning,” said Hands Ben, senior manager of Samsung Taiwan’s information technology group, at a launch event for its latest notebook line.
This is because more than 75 percent of the components that go into Samsung’s notebooks — including displays and DRAM — are produced in-house, which helps secure its component supply, Ben said.
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