According to Deutsche Messe AG, organizer of the event, the number of participating companies is expected to drop to 400, down from 2002’s 544. This is due to the impact left by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the deadly atypical pneumonia which struck parts of Asia earlier this year.
Third year in running, the show will be held in Shanghai, from Sept. 18-22. This year’s show attracted only 65 Taiwanese exhibitors, down from previous year’s 161. A conflict in schedule between CeBIT Asia and the Computex 2003 exhibition in Taiwan was cited by organizers as the major reason behind the drop, according to Taiwan’s technology Web site DigiTimes.
Due to the SARS outbreak, Computex 2003 which was originally scheduled for June 2-6, was postponed to Sept. 22-26.
Citing concerns about SARS, many international exhibitors decided not to attend this year’s CeBit Asia. The number of Chinese exhibitors will also decrease, from last year’s 173 to 150 this year. China’s leading electronics firms, Legend and Haier, both declined to participate in this year’s show, but promised to return next year, said the organizer.
Acer, Asustek Computer, BenQ, Hewlett-Packard (HP), Dell and Toshiba will also be absent from the show.
China and Taiwan were two of many countries badly affected by the spread of the disease that had started in February this year. SARS was thought to have started in Guangdong, a southern province in China, and the outbreak quickly spread to other countries in Asia. Tech conferences and tradeshows around the region were cancelled or postponed, while tech businesses’ plans were disrupted.
Taiwan was the last country to be removed from the WHO’s list of areas with recent local transmission of SARS on July 5.
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