Dell Inc, the world's third-biggest maker of personal computers, plans to ship China-made computers directly to customers in Taiwan by the end of November, a senior Dell official said Monday.

Taiwan-bound products will come out of Dell's flagship center in Xiamen, which includes two computer manufacturing plants that supply the Chinese mainland market, as well as Japan and South Korea.

This is the first time Dell will ship straight to Taiwan since it began its China operations in 1998, according to Jeff Clarke, Dell's vice chairman of operations and technology, Monday.

Previously, Dell shipments to Taiwan were shipped out of the company's Penang, Malaysia factory.

According to Clarke, Dell will begin producing its full portfolio of desktop computers for consumers and commercial customers in Taiwan later this month.

It also plans to start shipping servers and storage devices to the island by the end of 2010.

The company did not disclose expected sales volume to Taiwan, but said leveraging its close proximity to the island by sea will result in a faster and more cost-efficient supply chain.

According to research firm IDC, Dell is currently the second largest supplier of computer systems in China, with a 9 percent market share, after Lenovo. IDC estimates demand for computer systems in western China will grow at a 21 percent annual rate through 2014.

Back in September, the US-based computer maker announced plans to open a second major China operations center next year in Chengdu.

That facility would provide manufacturing, sales and service to support sector growth in western China. The new center is expected to be operational in 2011 and could grow to 3,000 team members over time.

In addition, the company also plans to open an additional office at its Xiamen site and hire up to 500 new staff later this year to support projected growth in north Asia and globally.