Hewlett-Packard Co, the world's biggest personal computer maker, said yesterday notebook computer shipments would outgrow the overall market's 28 percent annual expansion this year, shrugging off a potential impact on demand from the US subprime credit turmoil.
"We tend to take IDC [market researcher projections] as a fact. Some macroeconomic [factors] may change things, but overall we continue to see the growing market," Ted Clark, a senior vice president of HP's notebook global business unit, told a press briefing in Taipei.
IDC said world laptop computer shipments would grow 28 percent year-on-year this year on strong demand, Clark said.
PHOTO: AFP
HP expects its growth will outpace that of the overall industry, Clark said. Latin America will grow fastest and the Asia-Pacific region will come second, with a narrow margin, he said.
"HP's notebook growth is on plan," Clark said.
The company's laptop business does not foresee cutback on orders, he said in response to a media inquiry regarding speculation in a Goldman, Sachs & Co report last week that orders for local desktop computer makers could slow down during the fourth quarter.
HP's Taiwanese suppliers include Quanta Computer Inc (
Clark was in Taipei yesterday to attend the 5th anniversary celebrations of HP's Product Development Center in Taiwan. Aside from Taiwan's facilities, the Palo Alto, California-based company has three other product design centers in China, Germany and the US for its notebook computer business.
HP said yesterday the company would double its workforce at the product design center in Taiwan to 600 people by the end of next year, with 90 percent of new employees hired locally.
The facilities, established in September 2002, primarily develop products for the global market and collaborate with local partners in product design and delivery.
Over the past five years, more than 50 notebook platforms were launched, with more than 100 derivatives, in the global market, the company said.
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