Dell Computer Corp Chief Executive Michael Dell said the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks won't seriously damage the US economy and said demand for computers will rebound after falling 4 percent in the second quarter.
While some industries, such as travel, will suffer because of the attacks, the rest of the economy should move forward, Dell said in a speech to businessmen in Monterrey, Mexico.
"I don't expect there will be a broad change in the economic conditions," he said. "Certainly, many have been talking about a delay in the recovery of some period for the entire economy and I don't know how to quantify that."
Demand for personal computers has lagged this year as consumers and corporations slow spending. Since the Sept. 11 attacks that destroyed New York's World Trade Center and damaged the Pentagon near Washington, many analysts have predicted PC sales will decline even further.
The second-quarter decline in computer sales marked the first such drop since 1986. Dell said PC sales fell during the Gulf War in 1991 and during the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and recovered strongly each time.
"We don't see any reason why there won't be another rebound," he said.
"It doesn't really matter actually whether the economy is shrinking or growing, people still want productivity. And there's no better way to get productivity than information technology and computing tools."
Internet use will continue to drive demand for computers, he said.
Dell said it provided 7,000 laptops in 48-hours to the homes of employees of one company who were left without office space because their buildings were adjacent to the World Trade Center.
"It's that kind of speed and reaction and the use of the Internet that creates new possibilities even in times of disaster," he said.
Since the terrorist attacks, the NASDAQ Composite Index has tumbled 11 percent to 1,501.64 and Dell's stock has fallen 15 percent to US$19.16.
"If you're an investor and you look at the different times in history, you would know that when there's great uncertainty, when there's great fear and the news is not very good, that's actually not a bad time to be investing," he said.
Dell said his company has 32 percent of the corporate PC market in Mexico and is gaining share. Dell increased its sales 49 percent in Mexico last year, he said.
The company is considering building a plant in Mexico, he said.
He declined to give further details.
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