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APAC PC sales down 7% in Q1: IDC

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CIOL Bureau
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SINGAPORE: International Data Corporation (IDC) said on Wednesday that Asia-Pacific personal computer sales sagged seven per cent in the first quarter of 2001 but saw the market growing more than 18 per cent for the year. The market intelligence firm said PC shipments to countries in the region excluding Japan hit more than 5.1 million units in the first quarter - a 19 per cent increase from the same period of 2000 but a seven per cent drop from the previous three months.



"The results indicate a return to normal market seasonality where sequential growth in the first quarter is typically slower," IDC said in a statement.



India and China recorded annual growth rates in excess of 40 per cent year-on-year, lifting the region's overall performance. Export-driven economies such as Taiwan took the hardest hit and fell prey to weak global market conditions, with PC shipments falling 12.6 per cent in the first quarter.



South Korea suffered similar external conditions, causing quarter-on-quarter sales to fall by 10.2 per cent, although major vendors boosted shipments through significant price cuts. Despite the slowdown of the US economy, the Asia-Pacific PC market will grow in excess of 18 per cent in 2001, led by the region's most populous countries China and India, IDC said.



Legend Holdings kept its top spot in vendor rankings with 65 per cent year-on-year growth and 11.6 per cent market share in the first quarter, but its shipments fell by 12 per cent from the previous quarter. Samsung edged pass IBM to take second place with 7.5 per cent market share in the first quarter, although year-on-year and sequential growth rates were flat.



IBM, with 7.4 per cent market share, saw its PC sales slip by eight per cent from the previous quarter. Compaq Computer took fourth place with market share of 6.2 per cent despite a sequential decline of 5.4 per cent. Hewlett-Packard , in fifth position, recorded a 4.2 per cent rise in sequential shipments and bagged the largest quarterly increase.



(C) Reuters Limited 2001.

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