Taipei, May 30 (CNA) Computex Taipei 2017, one of the largest information communications technology trade exhibitions in the world, opened on Tuesday and is expected to post a year-on-year increase in visitors.
Addressing the opening ceremony, T.H. Tung, head of the Taipei Computer Association (TAC), one of the organizers of the annual high-tech trade exhibition, said that he hopes innovations in information technology will help boost economic growth.
Over the past three decades, Tung said, innovations in information technology have made life far more convenient for consumers and raised efficiency in communications by lowering the cost of data processing.
As a result, Tung said, innovation has started to drive economic growth, as predicted in the early 20th century by Austrian-born economist Joseph Schumpeter. As such, the next generation of innovations will lay the foundation for better economic performance.
Tung said that the five-day Computex 2017 will highlight Taiwan's strength in information technology development on the world stage, while this year's event is also expected to serve as a platform for technology information exchanges among exhibitors and visitors from overseas, at a time when more innovations are on the horizon.
He said Computex is a venue where representatives from the world's high tech industry gather to gain a better understanding of consumer preferences and exhibitors get to know their buyers.
According to the government-sponsored trade promotion group Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), Computex 2017 is expected to exceed by over 10 percent the 40,969 visitors and potential buyers from 178 countries that attended the event in 2016.
This year, 1,600 exhibitors will demonstrate their innovations at 5,010 booths, TAITRA said.
Key exhibitors include Taiwan-based PC brands Acer Inc. and Asustek Computer Inc. , U.S-based software giant Microsoft Corp., chip makers Intel Corp. and Advanced Micro Devices Inc. Electric car developer Tesla Inc., which entered the Taiwan market in September 2016, is also displaying its latest models at the exhibition. This is the first time the U.S. car maker has attended Computex.
Over the past three years, Tung said, Computex has introduced a wide range of new innovations and the 2017 event will focus on the Internet of Things (IoT), smart city and smart home applications, computer gaming, augmented reality and virtual reality (VR).
According to TAITRA, the 2017 event is arranged in four exhibition areas -- SmarTEX, which centers on IoT applications; InnoVEX, showcasing innovation and start-ups; iStyle, which shows Apple MFi licensing products; gaming and VR.
In addition, Computex 2017 will also hold a series of forums over the next five days to discuss the latest developments in global information technology, TAITRA said.
