Asia-Pacific PC market grows 30 percent

SINGAPORE - Market growth was 15 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2000, a figure which could have been higher if not for the impact of external economic factors, according to Gartner Dataquest analysts.

Lillian Tay, senior analyst for Gartner Dataquest's Computing Platform group, noted that the US currency exchange rate was one of the contributing factors dragging down growth.

"The negative reports of the U.S. market caused a dampening effect of a normal buying frenzy period and new technologies introduced in the quarter did not entice buyers as much as was hoped for," added Tay.

IBM - the leading vendor in 1999 - grew 28 percent in 2000 but fell to third. Legend took over the leadership mantle as its shipments surpassed 1.8 million units in 2000, an increase of 89 percent over 1999. Samsung and TriGem were the other top-tier vendors, outstripping average industry growth with increases of 87 and 100 percent respectively.

Asia-Pacific countries posting strong growth rates and market share increases over the past year were China, Korea, India, Indonesia and Thailand. China, leading in terms of sales, grew 33 percent with shipments of 6.6 million units. Following behind was Korea which recorded a 76 percent growth and shipments of 3.6 million units in 2000.

Figures for other countries were: India which shipped one million units (50 percent growth), Indonesia with 383,400 units (39 percent), and Thailand with 358,000 units (45 percent).

Tay further commented, "China is such a huge market in Asia/Pacific and success in China can propel the market share of a vendor. China's entry into the World Trade Organization may introduce more PC vendors into the market and increase competition. It is therefore imperative that existing vendors have a concrete business strategy and invest to grow countrywide."