From EE Times.
--
March 13, 2000, Issue: 1104
Section: Business
Region tallied record shipments in 1999, IDC report
concludes -- PC sales rev recovery in Asia
Mark Carroll
TAIPEI, TAIWAN - Asia appears to have pulled out of its economic
recession, led in large measure by Asian PC component makers.
The 1999 PC shipment total was the highest annual figure ever recorded.
According to a report by International Data Corp. (IDC), the change signals a
rebound from the previous two years. Since mid-1997, Asia's economic
problems had held back PC sales in the region.
The IDC Asia-Pacific survey concluded that the Asia-Pacific PC market
(excluding Japan) was over 14 million units in 1999. The total is almost a 39
percent rise from 1998 sales figures for the region.
The IDC report noted that while Y2K disrupted sales in the large and
midsized business sectors of developed markets in the fourth quarter, strong
buying from consumers and small businesses offset the impact.
The report points out that general economic improvement in the region
allowed lower interest rates, which led to a strengthening of regional
currencies and thus to greater business confidence. It also allowed for an
increase in commercial spending on PC equipment. Increased local interest in
the Internet and lower-cost PCs also were cited as reasons for an increase in
PC sales in the consumer sector.
'Massive upturn'
Securities analysts contacted here largely agreed with IDC's conclusions.
"There has been a massive upturn in Asia," said one analyst. "This year we see
a return of foreign capital into Asian PC company stocks."
For Asia overall, IBM Corp. regained bragging rights as the region's top PC
provider in 1999 as its market share increased from 8.1 percent to 8.4
percent. Last year's leader, Compaq Computer Corp., fell to second place in
the region, with market share of 7.3 percent for the year.
The apparent dominance of U.S. PC makers in the region is deceiving. In
Asia's two largest markets, China and Korea, the market leaders are both
local companies. "China's Legend Computer was the market leader in China
last year," said another securities analyst here. "It's the same for Samsung in
Korea. Legend was the third largest PC producer in Asia overall last year,
with about 7.1 percent of the market. That number is only likely to grow due
to the sheer size of China's potential market."
Every Asian country saw an increase in PC market growth in 1999. The
depressed figures of the two crisis years make some of last year's increases
seem spectacular by comparison. South Korea posted 79 percent growth in
1999. Indonesia, arguably the hardest-hit Asian economy, registered a 273
percent rise in computer purchases.
Perhaps China provides the most accurate barometer of PC demand in Asia.
Precise statistics are an oxymoron in that nation, but IDC estimated that
China's PC demand grew by almost 26 percent last year. That means China
accounted for an estimated 35 percent of all Asian PC consumption.
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