Asia-Pacific PC shipments in Q3 up 5%: IDC

BANGALORE: Third quarter shipments of personal computers (PC) in the Asia-Pacific region hit a record high, according to International Data Corporation (IDC), a market research firm.

Asia-Pacific shipments (excluding Japan) rose 5.1 per cent in third quarter and 41.3 per cent year-on-year to record 3.68 million units. IDC said, that the annual growth rate in the quarter was the highest in almost four years. "Some vendors were concerned that PC acquisitions would stall in the second half of 1999 due to a spending lock-down caused by the Y2K issue, but a major commercial spending freeze failed to materialize,’’ IDC said.

The firm said there could be greater impact in the fourth quarter, particularly in the major business and government sectors, but strong buying elsewhere would balance it. All countries generated shipment growth on year in the quarter, ranging from 10.3 per cent in New Zealand to 331.6 per cent in Indonesia. China was the region's largest market in Q3, followed by Korea, Australia, India and Taiwan, with annual Korean shipments growing by 70.2 per cent in the quarter. Taiwan posted 44.6 per cent annual shipment growth in the quarter, but shipments fell 23.6 per cent from Q2 levels due to completion of an education tender, IDC said.