The 2003 Computex trade show in Taipei, originally scheduled for June 2-6, may be delayed or even canceled as a result of the worsening SARS outbreak, according to the Taipei Computer Association (TCA), one of the sponsors.

The TCA said it expected to decide on the issue next week based on a survey of registered participants. The survey should be completed on Monday or Tuesday, the TCA said.

Several local companies, including motherboard and PC manufacturers, have asked the TCA and the other organizer, the China External Trade Development Council (CETRA), to postpone the show to September, or even to cancel the exhibition for this year, according to sources.

The companies have encountered great difficulties in having foreign clients accept their invitations to the show, as many cited SARS-related concerns, sources said. Stagnant sales at a recent Taipei electronics trade show also further discouraged the companies. Earlier reports said that the number of foreign buyers at the show dropped by over 66% compared to last year. Although some companies have already spent hundreds of thousands of NT dollars preparing for Computex, they are reluctant to stick to the original schedule, which would likely require another million NT, sources said.

According to a survey the TCA conducted in early April – when SARS appeared to be less serious – 69% of companies signed up as Computex exhibitors said they expected SARS to negatively affect the show this year and 20% reported receiving rejections from foreign clients for the show. However, at the time about 60% of the companies reported not having started inviting foreign clients. The survey, of 106 companies with a minimum of four standard booth spaces each at the event, got 75 valid responses. So far, about 1,150 companies have registered to take up about 2,500-standard booth spaces at Computex 2003.

Source : DigiTimes