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PC sales growth tempered by slowdown

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-02-19 10:58

Sales of personal computers (PC) in China went up in 2008 but the growth pace slowed, according to a report released on Wednesday.

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Last year, 32.19 million desktop PCs, laptops and servers were sold nationwide, up 15.2 percent year-on-year, but lower than the 19.5 percent growth in 2007, said the China Center for Information Industry Development (CCID) Consulting, a leading IT consulting company in China.

Revenue increased by only 9.6 percent year-on-year to 161.2 billion yuan ($23.6 billion).

In 2008, the number of laptops sold jumped 43.2 percent year-on-year to 9.02 million units. Revenue from laptops grew 27.1 percent to 63.6 billion yuan, according to the consultancy.

The number of desktops sold last year rose 6.8 percent to 22.49 million units. Revenue dropped 0.8 percent to 85.37 billion yuan compared with a year ago.

The report said buyers are withholding their purchase plans and market growth would heavily depend on the global economy this year. It said PC makers would have to look elsewhere, such as the rural market, for new growth.

The report also estimated PC sales would reach 177.4 billion yuan in 2009, with 82.82 billion yuan coming from desktops and 80.6 billion yuan from laptops.