Leading motherboard maker Asustek Computer, which has concentrated on the high-end market, is said to be entering the low-price sector with its new Hua Ching (transliterated from Chinese) subsidiary.
According to sources, Hua Ching will be led by Hsu Shih-chang, chairman for Asustek’s greater China operations. Wu Tsai-teng, former vice president of the R&D division of PC Chips, a major shareholder of Elitegroup Computer Systems (ECS), is reportedly to serve as Hua Ching’s president. Wu’s participation suggests that Asustek’s latest subsidiary is likely to adopt the ECS model for its operations, which regards fast-growing markets like China as its key sales targets.
Targeting the high-end sector, Asustek’s market share has been seriously threatened by the low-price-oriented ECS and even Micro-Star International (MSI) in the China market over the past two years amid a price war in the industry. Due to capacity oversupply since the second half of 2000, motherboard manufacturers have been forced to compete on product prices.
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