A-Pac computer sales log 15% Q3 growth

Wednesday, 23 October 2002, 19:30 IST
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NEW DELHI: Sale of personal computers in Asia Pacific in the quarter ended September grew by 15 percent over the same period last year, with China leading the growth in the region, said a survey report Tuesday. The computer market in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan, sold 6.52 million units in the third quarter, registering a growth of 15 percent over the July-September quarter last year, said the International Data Corp (IDC) survey report. The sale of computers in the quarter ended September also marked a growth of 12 percent over the April-June quarter, said the report issued here. "The main reason for this quarter's growth was the seasonal activity in the enormous Chinese PC (personal computer) market," said Bryan Ma, research manager (personal systems) of IDC Asia-Pacific. "Although other countries grew as well, a full recovery in the region could still take some time given the worldwide economic uncertainty prevalent today," he added. According to the IT industry research firm's report, a seasonal rise in PC shipments usually occurs in the third quarter in China due to summer sales and education purchases. "Government projects were another key driver in China, with local vendors accelerating the e-government initiatives. A moderate pickup in the banking and telecom industries also helped the Chinese market growth." Although the critical markets in South Korea and India also rose noticeably, results were still slightly short of expectations as many major deals failed to materialise, it added. Hong Kong, the only country in the region that witnessed lower than last year's sales in the third quarter, experienced a dismal commercial market. The Hong Kong market, however, managed to attain double-digit sequential growth due to increasing demand for low-priced notebook from university students, the survey claimed. Beijing-based Legend, the manufacturer of China's top-selling computer brand, topped the Asia Pacific personal computer market rankings with a significant 13 percent sequential growth rate. Global computer giants Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Dell followed Legend in the volume game, the report said, adding IBM and Dell managed to improve their sales due to its increased focus on China and India. Samsung, however, suffered from South Korea's sluggish corporate activity and price competition in the consumer space, the IDC report added. IDC expects some seasonal pickup at the end of the year, particularly in the consumer market, but an immediate rebound is not expected given the weak global economy.
Source: IANS
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