IT spending moves to Asia

SINGAPORE--The total IT spending in Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) is expected to expand from $66.26 billion last year to $106.35 billion in 2003.

This forecast, based on IDC Asia Pacific Black Book, June 2001, categorizes spending by hardware, packaged software and services.

Last year, the region spent an estimated $44.7 billion on hardware, $7.2 billion on software and US$14.3 billion on services, the study revealed.

IDC predicts that hardware spending in 2003 will increase by approximately 50 percent to $66.74 billion while software and IT services will grow by about 80 to 90 percent to US$13.9 billion and $25.7 billion respectively.

China, the biggest IT spender in the region, is expected to more than double its total IT expenses in three years. Last year, the Chinese market spent a total of $16.1 billion and in 2003 the figure is expected to hit $33.8 billion. --Reuters