Taiwan's Hon Hai Group sees 08 sales at $81.3 bln -paper

TAIPEI, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Hon Hai Group, Taiwan's top electronics gear maker, expected sales to grow 30 percent in 2008 to T$2.6 trillion ($81.3 billion) although the U.S. subprime meltdown remains an uncertainty, local media reported on Wednesday, quoting group chairman Terry Gou.

Gou expected solid U.S. demand for electronics products as U.S. consumers, hurt by the declining housing and auto markets, spend more time at home, the Economic Daily reported.

Shares of Hon Hai and many other Taiwan technology firms, which depend on the U.S. market as their top export destination, have dropped in the past few weeks amid investor concerns that the subprime mortgage fallout would cast doubt on their outlook.

Hon Hai, which includes Hon Hai Precision (2317.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Foxconn Technology (2354.TW: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz), is a contract manufacturer for many U.S. firms such as Apple (AAPL.O: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) and Hewlett Packard (HPQ.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz). (US$1=T$32.0) (Reporting by Faith Hung; Editing by Anne Marie Roantree)