Boom in Asia Pacific PC market
SINGAPORE - The Asia Pacific personal computer (PC) market experienced a strong growth in the third quarter of 2000, with unit shipments totaling 4.6 million units. This is an increase of 34 percent over the same period last year, according to preliminary results from Dataquest Inc., a unit of Gartner Group Inc.
In Singapore, PC shipments to the Singapore market grew on a year-on-year and quarter-on-quarter basis by 9 percent and 14 percent, respectively, in the third quarter of 2000. PC shipment reached 139,370 units in the third quarter of 2000.
Corporate and government purchases of PCs were influenced by strong replacement rates which in turn, were affected by technological developments in processor speeds, operating systems and form factors. The array of affordable PCs, hire purchase schemes and free Internet access served as the impetus for PC purchases for home users.
The breakdown of market share by vendors in Singapore found IBM to occupy the first position with nearly 14 percent market share, as shown in Table 1. Hewlett-Packard and Compaq followed in the second and third position with 13 percent and 10 percent respectively.
Table 1
Singapore PC vendor unit shipment estimates for 3Q'00 (units)
| Company | 3Q'00 Market Share (%) | Q3'99 Market Share (%) |
| IBM | 13.8 | 6.1 |
| Hewlett-Packard | 13.2 | 12.6 |
| Compaq Computer | 10.3 | 13.3 |
| Dell Computer | 9.6 | 7.3 |
| Acer | 8.9 | 8.9 |
| Others | 44.2 | 51.9 |
| Singapore | 100 | 100 |
Note: includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs only
Source: Gartner/Dataquest (October 2000)
In the Asia Pacific region, Legend continued to hold the first position with 11 percent market share (see Table 2). IBM was second with 8 percent market share, followed by Samsung that had 7 percent of the market. All three vendors were aided by the robust growth rates in China and Korea.
"The Asia Pacific PC market thrived on the back of government and private initiatives to increase the utilization of IT and the Internet in their respective countries," said Erica Gadjuli, analyst for Gartner Dataquest's Personal Computer Asia Pacific program.
Table 2
Asia Pacific PC vendor unit shipment estimates for 3Q'00 (units)
| Company | 3Q'00 Market Share (%) | 3Q'99 Market Share (%) | Shipment Growth (%) |
| Legend | 11.1 | 7.9 | 87.5 |
| IBM (with IBM/LG) | 8.6 | 8.3 | 39.4 |
| Samsung Electronic | 7.4 | 4.8 | 104.7 |
| Compaq | 7.1 | 7.8 | 22.1 |
| Acer | 5.3 | 4.8 | 48.8 |
| Others | 60.5 | 66.4 | 22.8 |
| Total Market | 100.0 | 100.0 | 34.0 |
Note: includes desk-based PCs and mobile PCs
Source: Gartner Dataquest (November 2000)
China continued to lead the PC market in the region with a market share of 39 percent in the third quarter of 2000.
"The PC market in China grew 14 percent in the third quarter of 2000 as a result of stable economic growth experienced in the country, which has continued to attract foreign investment and boost exports," said Gadjuli. "At the same time, the rapid growth of the Internet industry and the substantial expansion of the Internet community have also supported the growth of the PC market in China."
Korea came in second, accounting for 18 percent of PC shipments. PC shipments in the country increased 125 percent over the third quarter of last year.
"The market witnessed a burgeoning number of PC rooms- the Korean equivalent of Internet cafes," Gadjuli said. "The government's vision of equipping every Korean household with a PC with Internet access led to Samsung and TriGem putting out PCs at very low prices in order to compete with medium-size makers of Internet PCs."
International Data Corp. (IDC) also reported optimistic Asia Pacific PC sales, attributing its stable growth mainly to the burgeoning demand for PCs in highly populated markets such as mainland China and India.