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Monday, October 20, 2003

Asia-Pacific Q3 PC shipments up 13 pct after SARS

Reuters
Singapore, October 20

Shipments of personal computers in Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, surged 13
per cent in the third quarter and may rise further with the passing of
Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and a recovery in regional
economies, a research firm said on Monday.

IDC Asia-Pacific said PC shipments for the region rose to 7.41 million units
in the third quarter, up from 6.56 million a year ago, the strongest rise so
far in 2003.

The data tracking firm said PC shipments were also up 13 per cent compared
with the second quarter.

"With SARS now behind us, we can expect normal purchase patterns to resume,"
said IDC Asia-Pacific senior research manager for personal systems Bryan Ma.
"Further growth is expected in the upcoming quarters due to the rapidly
approaching year-end holidays as well as gradual improvement in the regional
economy next year," Ma said.

Asian PC shipments for China's biggest computer maker, Legend Group Ltd,
grew 16 per cent in the third quarter from a year earlier to around one
million units.

Legend retained its spot as top PC seller in Asia, excluding Japan, with a
market share for the quarter at 13.6 per cent.

It was followed by Hewlett-Packard Co with a 9.8 per cent share, IBM with
6.9 per cent and Dell Inc with 6.3 per cent.

Dell posted the biggest year-on-year growth in shipments at 48 per cent
followed by HP with 35.8 per cent.

PC sales in China and Taiwan rebounded on pent-up demand as the outbreak of
SARS ended, the research firm said.

IDC said sectors such as education and Government in China made larger
purchases in the third quarter. The growth in the third quarter was also
underpinned by upbeat sentiment in key markets such as Australia, Taiwan and
India.

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