Asia-Pacific PC Market Up 20.9% to 66.6 M. in 2007

Taipei, Jan. 24, 2008 (CENS)--The Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan) PC market grew 20.9% to reach 66.6 million units in 2007, during which portable PCs continued to be a key driver with nearly every country posting double-digit growth from the previous year, according to IDC.

Preliminary research results released by IDC, the premier global provider of market intelligence, advisory services, and events for the information technology, telecommunications, and consumer technology markets, showed that Lenovo retained a leading position in total PCs in the region, although HP's aggressive moves in the consumer space helped it to close the gap by nearly percentage points. Dell, Acer, and Founder rounded out the Top-5 vendors.

In the fourth quarter of 2007, IDC said, PC sales grew 1% from previous quarter and 21% from a year earlier to reach 18.1 million units, which was generally in line with expectations. Some markets like India, Malaysia, and Vietnam came in short of forecasts due to tender delays, while portable PCs recovered significantly in Indonesia as products were able to clear customs procedures more easily than before. Similar to the rankings for full year 2007, Lenovo led the market in the fourth quarter, followed by HP and Dell, the latter of which has been continuing its recovery in the region.

"It was a spectacular year for the PC market in Asia," pointed out Bryan Ma, director of Asia/Pacific personal systems research at IDC. "Even though wild cards such as the US economy are looming overhead, the fundamentals are so solid that the market could very well beat our conservative expectations for 16.8% growth in 2008."

China's economic momentum should accelerate both before and after the Summer Olympics (in Beijing), Ma continued, and portable PCs would continue to be a hot segment of the market across all countries, especially as the competition for sexy-looking consumer products intensifies.

Reuben Tan, senior manager of Asia-Pacific personal systems research at IDC, said that the Singapore PC market continued to meet expectations in the fourth quarter of 2007 with a year-on-year (YoY) growth of 22%. "As we move into 2008, consumers will likely drive the Singapore PC market," he said, "which will help make up for any potential delays in the government's Standard Operating Environment project."

Kathy Sin, research manager of Asia-Pacific personal systems research at IDC, said Hong Kong's PC market continued to do well, beating forecasts by 7% despite the seasonal fourth-quarter lull as channel inventory was filled. Healthy economic growth should continue to fuel the market into 2008 with little or no problem, he added.

Asia-Pacific (ex. Japan) PC Shipments by Vendor (2006 - 2007)
Rank	Vendor	2006 Market Share	2007 Market Share	Annual Unit Growth
1	Lenovo	17.4%	18.4%	27.4%
2	HP	11.1%	13.9%	52.3%
3	Dell	7.7%	7.8%	22.0%
4	Acer	5.4%	6.1%	37.5%
5	Founder	5.4%	5.1%	14.0%
	Others	53.1%	48.8%	11.0%
	Total	100.0%	100.0%	20.9%
Source: IDC, January 2008.