Legend, the leading Chinese PC manufacturer, continued to hold the number one position in the region with 11% of the market. IBM was second with more than 8%, followed by Samsung with 7% of the market. All three vendors were aided by robust growth in China and South Korea.
"The PC market in China grew 14% in the third quarter of 2000 as a result of stable economic growth experienced in the country, which has continued to attract foreign investment and boost exports," says Gartner analyst, Erica Gadjuli.
"This has also contributed to the development of the industrial and service sectors of the economy. At the same time, the rapid growth of the Internet industry and the substantial expansion of the Internet community have also supported the growth of the PC market in China."
The Asia-Pacific PC market experienced strong growth overall in the third quarter of last year as unit shipments reached 4.6 million, an increase of 34% compared with the same period in 1999.
"The Asia-Pacific PC market thrived on the back of government and private initiatives to increase the use of IT and the Internet in their respective countries," says Gadjuli.
PC shipments in South Korea increased 104% from the third quarter of 1999, placing the country second in the region, shipping 18% of PCs.
"The market witnessed a burgeoning number of PC rooms - the South Korean equivalent of Internet cafes," says Gadjuli. "The government's vision of equipping every South Korean household with a PC with Internet access led to Samsung and TriGem putting out PCs at very low prices in order to compete with medium-sized makers of Internet PCs."
The Australian market displayed a moderate year-on-year 11% growth in the third quarter. This was attributed to the negative implications of the new goods and service tax (GST), an unfavourable exchange rate against the Australian dollar and the Olympics, all of which adversely affected the PC market. The home and Soho (small office/home office) market segments continued to exhibit healthy signs of growth and may be the key driving force in sustaining the Australian PC market.
"PC shipments to other countries in the Asia-Pacific region also experienced strong growth in the third quarter 2000, particularly in countries with low PC penetration rates like India, Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia," Gadjuli says.
"The demand for PCs in more developed countries like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore and New Zealand continue to be boosted by strong replacement rates, while the PC markets in the Philippines and Vietnam are still in the nascent stages with lots of room to grow.
"These represent enormous potential and opportunities for vendors should the region continue on the path of stable economic growth in the coming quarters."
Asians Love their High-tech Toys
The Pan Asia Cross Media (PAX) 2000 Survey by Asia Market Intelligence (AMIshows that the consumption habits of Asia's affluent people closely follow trends. A new survey has confirmed what we already knew about Asia's affluent consumers - they like to buy the latest and hippest high-tech products such as DVDs, MP3 players and digital video cameras.
Hong Kong has the most number of affluent people owning DVD players at 52% and VCD players at 84%, according to the PAX 2000 survey. Although DVDs are beginning to make their presence felt, VCDs are still highly popular in Asia. Countries such as Indonesia, which ranks third in ownership of this home entertainment device at 79%, are still caught up in the VCD craze. Although high-end technology appliances and home entertainment components such as MP3s and flat screen TVs are fairly recent newcomers to the market, they are rapidly becoming popular, the survey shows.
As the major manufacturer of MP3 players, South Korea has the highest number of owners at 14%. "One of the reasons why our MP3 market is growing drastically is because the sound quality of MP3 technology is as good as CDs," says AMI Korea's Heejeong Woo. "The other main benefit is that we can select and download music via the Internet without paying much or even a penny. Updating music from the Internet is quick and there is no need to wait until the release of the CDs in the market. I think high Internet penetration here in South Korea also plays an important part in the growth of the MP3 market.
Internet access for affluent individuals in South Korea is 72%, the survey shows.
"Internet penetration amongst this affluent group is reaching very high levels in some of the more developed markets like Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea," says Guy Potter director of AMI Online. Among less developed nations around a quarter of all affluent consumers are online.
While the market for high-tech products grows, the market for financial products such as credit cards and life insurance also increases. Ownership of the latter across Asia increased from 63% last year to 68% this year. Hong Kong also takes first place in ownership of credit cards at 93%.