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TAIPEI, May 16 (Reuters) - Taiwan's Asustek Computer (2357.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Friday it expects its own-branded motherboard shipments in the second quarter to rise 10 percent or more from the first quarter as demand remains robust. Joe Hsieh, Asustek's general manager for the company's motherboard business unit, told reporters that shipments could hit 5 million in the second quarter.

"Demand in Europe has picked up in the second quarter, and Asia-Pacific regions have seen stable growth in both the first and second quarters," said Hsieh.

In 2007, Asustek had a one-third share of the global motherboard market, with local rival Gigabyte Technology (2376.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) trailing closely behind, the company said.

"We remain the No.1 brand in the motherboard business, although the sector is really maturing," said Hsieh, adding that the company will keep its previous forecast of shipping 24 million motherboard units this year.

Shares of Asustek have risen 0.62 percent since the end of last year, compared to an 8 percent gain on the benchmark TAIEX index, while shares of Gigabyte Technology have jumped 41 percent in the same period.

Asustek, which sells laptops under its own brand and has a separate manufacturing arm that makes notebooks for major U.S. vendors such as Apple Inc (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research) and Dell Inc (DELL.O: Quote, Profile, Research), aims to ship 10 million notebooks in 2008, up from 7 million in 2007.

The Taiwan company competes with PC names like Acer Inc (2353.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) in its own-brand business and electronics maker Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (2317.TW: Quote, Profile, Research) on its contract manufacturing side. (US$1=T$30.66)