Asian server market grows 22 percent

The Asia Pacific server-shipment market, excluding Japan, registered year-on-year growth of 22 percent for the first quarter of 2001, according to initial estimates by market-research company Gartner Dataquest, a unit of Gartner. Topping the list were Hong Kong and China with growth rates of 68 percent and 52 percent respectively, followed by Singapore (27 percent), Taiwan (18 percent), India (8 percent), Australia (3 percent) and Korea (3 percent). However, Gartner Dataquest cautioned that unit shipments in Asia Pacific also registered a "sharp decline" of 12 percent from the fourth quarter of last year, as many corporations, particularly in regional centers like Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia, delayed purchase decisions as they waited to see if the slowdown would be a protracted one. Staff writer Michelle Tan reported from Singapore.