Japan 2002/03 PC server shipments seen up 16 pct
TOKYO, May 15 (Reuters) - Japan's personal computer server
market is expected to rebound in the second half of the business
year started on April 1, regaining momentum after last year's IT
slump, a market research firm said on Wednesday.
Japan's domestic PC server shipments are expected to grow 16
percent in volume terms to 380,000 units in 2002/03 after
unusually tepid growth of 11.9 percent in 2001/02, the MultiMedia
Research Institute Ltd said.
The institute gave no forecast in value terms for this year,
although a spokesman said that given a continuing fall in prices,
the market would at best be flat after last year's 9.6 percent
drop to 226.0 billion yen ($1.76 billion).
"The start of the 2002/03 business year has finally brought
indications of a bottoming out in the economy, with hopes for a
recovery in corporate willingness to invest, but a recovery in
capital investment is not expected until the second half," the
institute said in a statement.
In the last business year, Dell Computer Corp <DELL.O>,
powered by low-priced products, surged past Compaq Computer Corp
and International Business Machines Corp <IBM.N> subsidiary IBM
Japan to take the number-three spot in the market in terms of
units sold.
Japanese electronics conglomerates NEC Corp <6701.T> and
Fujitsu Ltd <6702.T> retained their respective number-one and
number-two positions.
The institute's spokesman said Hewlett-Packard Co <HPQ.N>,
which did not make the top five last year, looked set to take
over the number-two spot in 2002/03 following its recent merger
with Compaq.
Hitachi retained its number-five position in the market in
2001/02.
($1=128.49 yen)
((Edmund Klamann, Tokyo Equities Desk +81 3 3432 8595
tokyo.equities.newsroom@reuters.com))
REUTERS
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