Taipei - Taiwan's Compal Electronics Inc, the world's second-largest contract notebook computer maker, plans to build a notebook computer plant in Poland and another in Brazil, a newspaper said on Thursday.

Compal President Ray Chen said that Compal, while keeping its production base in China and building its secondary production base in Vietnam for low-end notebook computers, plans to diversify investment due to the difficulty in expanding notebook computer output in China, caused by transport and component supply problems, the Economic Daily News said.

So Compal has applied to open notebook computer plants in Poland and in Brazil, and close its plant in Manchester, United Kingdom, due to rising workers' salaries.

In the initial stage, the plants in Poland and Brazil will take care of notebook computer repair, but they would start manufacturing notebook computers later this year should demand arise, the daily quoted Chen as saying.

Compal is investing in Poland and Brazil because these newly-emerged markets are the source of fast-growing demand for notebook computers, he said.

Compal is the world's second-largest contract notebook computer maker after Quanta Computer Inc, also of Taiwan. It means Compal makes notebook computers which bear the brand names of large international companies like Apple, Dell or Microsoft.

Compal's target for 2008 is shipment of 32 million units of notebook computers. (dpa)