IDC Reports 20% Growth of Malaysia PC Shipments in 2006

01 March, 2007

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, 01 March 2007 – The PC market in Malaysia has again attained robust growth as shipments grew by 20% across desktop and portable PCs from 2005 to 2006, according to IDC's latest study, Malaysia Desktop and Notebook 2007-2011 Forecast and Analysis. In 2006, the notebook PC segment significantly outperformed the desktop PC segment, growing by a significant 61% year-on-year. At the same time, the desktop PC segment declined by 3% year-on-year.

The sterling performance of notebook was caused by the sustained resilience of the consumer market and increased mobility usage in the workplace. In 2006, consumer notebook recorded a robust 90% year-on-year growth while commercial notebook grew by 35% compared to 2005. Notebook contributed 47% of the total market at the same year. Vendors' aggressive marketing programs and declining price-point has become the major stimuli of notebook demand in the consumer sector. More low-priced entry-level products were launched to penetrate the price-sensitive end-user segments and stimulate first-time buyers. The introduction of entry-level notebooks from strong Multinational Corporation brands such as Acer, HP and Toshiba also instilled greater confidence in some consumers and led them to be more aware of notebook configurations and specifications. At the commercial side, besides the sustained momentum in the small and medium-sized business (SMB) space, large corporations and educational agencies have shown increased adoption of the mobile technology too.

"As compared with five years ago, the notebook market size has grown six times bigger, and the portable contribution to the total PC market revenue surpassed desktops for the first time in Malaysia's PC market history. " says Chean-Chung Lee, Associate Analyst, PC Research, IDC Malaysia.

Source: IDC, February 2007

On the other hand, Malaysia consumer desktop shipments increased by 4% in 2006 compared to 2005. In contrast, the year-on-year commercial desktop shipments declined by 5%. The overall market revenue for desktop grew by 4% year-on-year and amounted to US$549 million. In 2006, desktop market still contributed 53%, which is more than half of the total market. The main reason for the softening demand of desktops was that the large corporation and education sectors have put greater focus on portables rather than desktops. At the same time, the declining price points and massive marketing promotions of notebooks have made mobility a more favorable theme in 2006.

IDC expects the Malaysia PC market to maintain healthy growth from 2007-2011, represented by a compounded annual growth rate of 8 to 9%. The demand for portable PCs will continue to grow and the proportion of the notebooks will nearly match that of desktops in the mid- to long term.

For more information about this research, kindly contact Hazmi Yusof at 603-2169-7522 or hyusof@idc.com, or Stephen Chong at 603-2169-7521 or ckchong@idc.com.

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