Western European computer shipments rose 1 percent in the second quarter as British and German sales fell and companies delayed spending on equipment amid a sluggish economy, said IDC, a market research firm.
UK sales dropped, for the first time, by 4.4 percent, and German ones declined 4 percent, IDC said. French sales rose 8.6 percent as businesses resumed spending on computer systems this year and Italian ones rose more than 10 percent.
US PC manufacturers such as Compaq Computer Corp and Dell Computer Corp have reduced sales forecasts or cut jobs as worldwide computer sales fell for the first time in the quarter.
The European market, once seen by them as a shelter from the slowdown, isn't growing as fast as expected as companies use their existing equipment for longer, IDC said.
"2001 will be another year of slow growth in Europe," said Karine Paoli, an IDC analyst.
Confidence of UK manufacturing exporters fell during the second quarter at the fastest rate since October 1998, a Confederation of British Industry report said yesterday, while a report Monday showed business confidence in Germany fell during June to the lowest level in almost five years.
PC sales, which include computers and servers, are still expected to pick up in Western Europe at the end of the year and in 2002, as businesses upgrade existing systems and Microsoft Corp sells its new software Windows XP, IDC said.
Sales of laptops, which had grown by more than 10 percent over the past four years, rose just 6.4 percent even as computer sellers slashed prices, the report said.
Shipments by Compaq, the No. 1 in Europe, Middle East and Africa with a 17 percent market share, rose 5 percent.
That's slower than Dell and Hewlett-Packard Co, the No. 2 and No. 3 in the region, which rose 14 percent and 13 percent respectively.
Dell and Hewlett-Packard, the leader in France, gained ground by reducing prices and selling more laptops, IDC said.
Toshiba Corp lost the leadership in the laptop market in the region to Compaq, now No. 1, and Dell, now No. 2, IDC said.
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS