Shanghai Daily news

Solar-powered road lamps and Blue-ray discs were on display at the Yangtze River Delta's biggest electronic trade fair, which opened yesterday in Suzhou, Jiangsu Province.

Taiwan high-tech companies contributed the majority of products at eMEX (Electronic Manufacturer Exposition) 2006, highlighting their determination to expand business on the Chinese mainland, fair organizers and exhibitors said.

Taiwan's Lustrous Technology Ltd displayed an environmentally friendly solar street lamp.

The solar cells inside the lamp are charged during the daytime and at night the power is automatically turned on.

"It can work for up to seven days even it is raining or cloudy during that time," said Dawson Liu, Lustrous's chief executive.

The equipment is now only in use on some Philippines islands, where power lines are not available.

Hejian Technology (Suzhou) Co, 15 percent owned by United Microelectronics Corp, plans to build a 12-inch wafer plant in Suzhou next year, representing the world's most advanced semiconductor manufacturing technology, according to Tyler E, the company's marketing official.

Taiwan's Macronix International Co showed off its multimedia chip, which supports video, audio and language display. The company, the biggest memory chip supplier for Nintendo Co, has set up a design team in Suzhou with 200 staff, according to Arthur Yang, the company's sales' director.

Taiwan's Ritek Corp, which has a disc manufacturing plant in Kunshan, Jiangsu Province, displayed Blue-ray discs. The next-generation discs can be used in Sony's PlayStation 3 and have a capacity of more than 10 times that of DVDs.

Suzhou eMEX runs from yesterday to Saturday at the Suzhou International Expo Center. Among its 518 exhibitors, Taiwanese IT firms account for 43 percent. At present, more than 7,000 Taiwan firms have set up facilities in Suzhou, according to Zhou Weiqiang, the city's vice mayor.

"It is a good choice for Taiwan companies to develop manufacturing industry in the Yangtze River Delta to save costs and add value," said Enoch Du, the secretary-general of the Taipei Computer Association.