Japan's PC shipments to grow 11% this year

Japan's domestic shipments of personal computers are expected to hit a record level in 2004, boosted by replacement demand from business users and a recovery in private consumption, a research firm said on Thursday. Domestic PC shipments are estimated to grow 11% to 13.3 mil units this year, surpassing the 13.24 mil posted in 2000, MultiMedia Research Institute Ltd said. In 2003, Japan saw a 6.6% rise in domestic PC shipments, it said. Demand was particularly strong in the second half of the year, which saw a year-on-year gain of 13.3% - the first double-digit growth in three years.