By John Lui, 22 May 2003 11:54
NEWS The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) outbreak in China has dealt a hard blow to PC shipments in the People's Republic, according to a market analysis firm. But in the months ahead, demand will go up, as SARS has made stuck-at-home users familiar with the online lifestyle and home offices, said Taiwan-based Market Intelligence Center (MIC). "SARS fears have reverberated through the Chinese PC market, altering demand, buying behaviour, and the competitive landscape," said a statement from MIC. The pneumonialike disease has claimed over 280 lives in China and over 5,000 have been diagnosed with the virus. Normally bustling electronics malls in Beijing were ghost towns in March and April, causing consumer desktop demand in these shopping areas to drop as much as 50 percent. Overall, sales of consumer desktop PCs in the capital fell between 75 and 85 percent. Corporate desktop PCs were not spared either: sales slid 10 to 15 percent below forecasts in March and April, according to MIC. Looking ahead from May to September, consumer and corporate desktop PC demand is expected to shrink 30 percent and 5 percent respectively. There will be a "downward adjustment" of between 15 and 20 percent for desktop PC sales in the second and third quarters of 2003 for China, said MIC.
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