Singapore PC market may be "maturing"
The total number of desktops and notebooks shipped into Singapore for the three months ended June see an increase of 10 percent, according to a study.
Total consumer spending here hit $194 million for the quarter, said market research firm Dataquest Asia Pacific, without providing previous quarter figures.
However, Singapore only contributed 2.9 percent to the total units shipped in the Asia Pacific region, or 4.1 million, in the same quarter.
"The Singapore PC market may be exhibiting signs of a maturing market, given its high PC-penetration rate and a relatively small market with only a population of 3.5 million," Dataquest Asia Pacific PC and peripherals analyst Lai Kah Yik said.
"Rather than resembling its neighbors, the PC market in Singapore actually resembles those in developed markets such as the US--where vendors need to differentiate their products from one another and constantly introduce strategies to encourage users to upgrade their PCs regularly," Lai said.
In comparison, China contributed 38.2 percent, or 1.6 million units, to the region's total shipment in the second quarter. The shipments made 33 percent growth over the second quarter of 1999.
Korea is the second-largest contributor to the region's total PC shipment after China, capturing a 19.5 percent market share, or 799,500 units, and experiencing an 84 percent growth in unit shipments over the same period last year.
"Growth in countries such as China and Korea (is expected to) spur the region on to greater heights. The region is on track to break the 18 million units for year 2000 with a growth rate of 35 percent year-on-year," said Dataquest Asia Pacific regional director and principal analyst Ian Bertram, who covers computers and peripherals.