Dell to buy more components made in China this year

Dell Inc, the world's second-largest maker of personal computers, plans to increase purchases of components from Chinese suppliers by about 28 percent this year.

Dell plans to buy US$23 billion in computer parts from China this year, compared with US$18 billion last year, the Round Rock, Texas-based company said in a statement that was handed out before a press conference in Beijing yesterday.

The PC maker is increasing its presence in China to try to win customers from Lenovo Group Ltd (聯想), Asia's biggest PC maker. The US company estimates it will contribute more than US$50 billion to China's GDP this year and support more than 2 million jobs, the statement said.

"We've become the third-largest computer-systems company in China, and are growing rapidly," chief executive officer Michael Dell said in the statement. "Dell will continue to play a key role in China in the `connected era.'"

China's growing wealth is fueling demand for electronic products. The country's economy expanded 11.4 percent last year, the fastest pace in 13 years.

The nation's retail sales rose 16.8 percent last year, driven by incomes that climbed 17.2 percent in urban areas and 15.4 percent in rural areas.

Dell in October started selling computers in less than 100 stores in China through Gome Electrical Appliance Holdings Ltd (國美電器控股).

The US company plans to expand its presence to 1,000 cities in the nation from 45 at present, Steve Felice, Dell's Asia president, said on Feb. 29, without providing a timeframe.