Lenovo sees LePad outpacing iPad in China

BEIJING, CHINA: Lenovo Group Ltd, the world's No.4 PC brand, is confident that sales of its tablet PC will surpass Apple Inc's iPad in China, its chief executive said on Friday.

Lenovo, one of the best known brands from China, was also seeking merger and acquisition opportunities in emerging markets and the consumer segment, Yang Yuanqing said in an interview.

"We are faring better than them (Apple) in China, be it our products or our channels," Yang said on the sidelines of a meeting of an advisory body to the Chinese parliament. "However we'll have to work harder in overseas markets."

Earlier this week, Apple's legendary chief Steve Jobs launched the newest version of its iPad, a device that helped spawn a new market in tablet computers.

Lenovo plans to begin selling its LePad in China this quarter and globally by June, while others, such as Nokia and LG Electronics Inc, are hatching similar plans.

"The LePad's capabilities are pretty close to a PC and our company has high hopes for it," Yang said.

Yang also said the company did not rule out the possibility of continuing to introduce foreign strategic investors, after International Business Machines Corp sold $265 million of its shares at an up to 4.1 per cent discount in February.

Yang's comments came after the Hong Kong market closed.

Lenovo's shares were down 0.43 per cent, lagging the Hang Seng index's 1.24 per cent gain.