Last August Hexus brought you exclusive confirmation that abit was exiting the mainboard market. The plan at the time was to move into the consumer electronics market with products like digital picture frames and mobile internet devices.

Well it looks like the global recession has put paid to those plans. Sources at South East Asian distributors have told us that parent company USI has run out of patience and decided to pull out of the channel market entirely.

The whole of abit is now in the process of liquidation, we are told, and the process is expected to be completed in around a month.

There certainly doesn't seem to be any sales and marketing operation any more. Marketing director Thore Welling sent us an email early this morning in which he said: "After 20 years in the market the abit brand now bids farewell, so it's also time for me now to lock the doors of the marketing department. That's it for good now."

You can read the entire article at HEXUS.