Taiwan Tech Demise Shows Pain of Dependence on Desktop PCs
- Companies left making standardized components hurting the most
- Japanese lead gains among Asian technology stocks this year
Visitors look at laptops after the opening of Computex Taipei, Asia's biggest information technology and communications trade fair on May 31, 2011. Tablets that match the iPad but at a cheaper price. Slimmer, more powerful notebooks. At Computex, Asia’s top IT fair, manufacturers are showing how they plan to face the challenge from Apple’s iconic product.AFP PHOTO/PATRICK LIN (Photo credit should read PATRICK LIN/AFP/Getty Images)
Photographer: PATRICK LIN/AFP/Getty ImagesFor a stark depiction of how Taiwan’s technology industry has been ravaged by the rise of the smartphone and the fall of the desktop computer, look at Asia’s stock market.
The nine worst performers in Morgan Stanley’s 106-member Asia-Pacific Infotech Index this year come from Taiwan, once the leader of computer innovation and a powerhouse in hardware and semiconductor manufacturing. The sagging companies include former PC giant Acer Inc. and its manufacturing spinoff Wistron Corp. -- both are down by more than 40 percent -- and smartphone maker HTC Corp., once the biggest seller in the U.S.