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PC sales rise 21% in Asia

Sales of personal computers in the Asia-Pacific region outside Japan totaled 66.6 million last year, up 20.9 percent over the previous year, an industry research group said.

International Data Corp (IDC) said robust sales of portable PCs powered the growth, with Chinese computer-maker Lenovo maintaining its lead over US rivals Hewlett-Packard and Dell.

"It was a spectacular year for the PC market in Asia," IDC analyst Bryan Ma said of the preliminary results released in a statement on Monday.

"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 percent growth in 2008," he said.

Concerns that the US could slide into a recession have hammered equities and financial markets worldwide. Economists say a slowdown in the world's biggest economy could also hit global growth.

Ma said computer sales this year should get a boost from a strong Chinese economy, and portable PCs will remain in demand, "especially as the competition for sexy-looking consumer products intensifies."

Lenovo, which in 2005 acquired the personal computer business of US technology icon IBM, led the Asia-Pacific market outside Japan with an 18.4 percent share, up from 17.4 percent in 2006. Taiwan's Acer came in fourth, accounting for 6.1 percent of the market, up from 5.4 percent in 2006, IDC said.
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