Legend dismisses WTO fears
Computer firm Legend Holdings has dismissed concerns that it would be adversely affected by the mainland's accession to the World Trade Organisation.
The red chip yesterday said there would be no negative impact as all leading foreign personal-computer firms had set up mainland assembly lines in the past few years.
They had been operating in the same environment and under the same conditions as their domestic counterparts.
The comments come after reports last week that Washington had, during WTO negotiations, asked Beijing to eliminate tariffs on semiconductors, computers and other technology products by 2005.
Legend said domestic PC makers had been hard hit by reductions in import tariffs and relaxation of import controls for computer products early this decade, but had regained market share.
Legend has been the mainland's top PC seller since 1997, with 14.4 per cent of the market last year.
With WTO entry, Beijing would lower import tariffs and discourage smuggling - improving market conditions and the competitiveness of large manufacturers.
Some small to medium-sized firms had smuggled components into the mainland to maintain cost advantage, Legend said.
Lower tariffs would also stimulate product sales and broaden application use.
