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Technology Stocks : Lam Research (LRCX, NASDAQ): To the Insiders -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Duker who wrote (2917)	6/11/1999 6:02:00 AM
From: Duker	Respond to of 5867

Asia-Pacific PC Market Sees Record Quarterly Shipments By CONNIE LING THE WALL STREET JOURNAL INTERACTIVE EDITION HONG KONG -- Fueled by a strong regional economic rebound, the Asia-Pacific personal-computer market outside Japan saw record shipments for the first quarter, according to market-research firm International Data Corp. Asia Pacific. During that period, PC shipments for the region totaled 2.95 million units, a 24% increase from the year-ago period and a 2% increase from the fourth quarter of 1998. "The leading driver is the economic rebound in Asia," said Dane Anderson, vice president of IDC Asia Pacific's computing-systems division. The first quarter also marked the second consecutive period of growth for regional PC shipments. Mr. Anderson predicted the growth will continue through the rest of 1999 as the economy continues to pick up and PC prices fall across the region. Countries that were hardest hit by the economic crisis are also showing the strongest growth. Indonesia, for example, posted 66% growth in the first quarter from a year earlier; while South Korea saw a 51% increase in shipments. China remained the largest PC market in Asia-Pacific with 1.02 million units shipped in the first quarter, more than double the shipments for No. 2 Australia. "China will be shouldering the regional growth," Mr. Anderson said. While acknowledging that there are certain factors that may affect the China market, including currency effects and relations with the U.S., he said he believed the outlook remained positive for China's PC market. China's largest PC maker, Legend Holdings Ltd., was the third-largest PC manufacturer in the region in the first quarter, with a 6% market share. International Business Machines Corp. and Compaq Computer Corp. led the market with 8.8% and 7.6% market shares, respectively. The increasing popularity of the Internet is another factor driving PC sales across the region, Mr. Anderson said. "It is heightening the awareness of computing and making the PC a more desirable product for consumers," he added. Meanwhile, market-research firm AC Nielsen Hong Kong predicted Thursday that the number of Internet users in Hong Kong will reach 1.5 million -- 23% of the population -- by year end. The number of people with Internet accounts increased to 690,000 in March, a 21% increase from a year earlier. The company estimated that each Internet account is shared by an average of 1.8 people in the territory and said nearly 40% of the online population are users who have spent less than a year online. Of those polled, 34% logged on at least once a day, while 41% said they went online several times a week. Despite the increase in the online population, the number of people who have bought things online is still small. Only about 9% of all Internet users polled said they had made purchases online, compared with 6% a year earlier. AC Nielsen estimated the total market for e-commerce in Hong Kong to be just under $10 million. "Internet shoppers are just waiting for a reliable solution to the issue of transaction security and better online product information," said Johnny Tsin, the firm's research director. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------