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Domestic Computer Sales Grow by 26%
Nearly 6.2 million Chinese and foreign-made computers are likely to be sold in China this year, a jump of 26 per cent from the previous year, said the Ministry of Information Industry (MII), according to Chinadaily.
In the latest report, jointly produced by the Computer and Micro-electronics Development and Research Centre of the MII and Beijing CCIDNET Information Technology Co Ltd, Chinese computer industry experts explained that their forecast for the consumption of computers in China this year was based on the continuing high growth of the country's computer market in the first half of this year.
More than 2.8 million computers were sold in the January-June period this year, 25.6 per cent more than the same period last year.
The sales volume amounted to 29.3 billion yuan (US$3.53 billion), an increase of 17.8 per cent compared to the first six months of 1999, the report said.
It is estimated that strong consumer demand in the Far East drove the worldwide consumption of computers in the second quarter of 2000 up by 14.5 per cent, according to preliminary figures released yesterday by the International Data Corp (IDC). Worldwide shipments rose to 30.1 million. This represents an expected seasonal decline of 2.1 per cent.
Markets in the Asia-Pacific region remain strong as summer promotions in China and marketing programmes in Australia expanded consumer demand, the IDC said.
"The Chinese market is expected to perform better in the second half of the year," said Lin Yuanfang, deputy director of the Economic Operation Department of the MII.
"Market demand is growing thanks to the fast development of the country's Internet industry," he added.
Industry insiders also pointed out that the increasing reform of the procedure to apply for space on the Internet and China's impending entry into the World Trade Organization this year will be another two major factors leading to the development of the industry.
Yang Jian, a professor with the Beijing CCIDNET Co Ltd, said that three types of computers, desktops, notebooks and servers based on the IA (Intel Architecture) structure, are likely to continue to grow in popularity in the second half of the year.
"The domestic market for computers is heating up and much remains to be tapped," he said.
The reports showed that in the first half of this year, the sales of desktop PCs registered a growth of 25.6 per cent to reach 2.56 million units sold.
By the end of this year, some 5.66 million desktops are likely to be sold, the reports said.
PCs for commercial use will continue to be the mainstay of the market. Sales of private PCs are nevertheless witnessing a surge. Some 9 million PCs were sold for home-use in the first half of the year, accounting for 35.2 per cent of the total.
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