The growth rate of China's personal computer sales is expected to drop to a five-year low this year on an uncertain economic environment and disasters like the earthquake in Sichuan, research firms said yesterday.

China's PC sales will grow 18 percent year on year in 2008 to more than 42 million units. The growth rate is likely to be the lowest one since 2003 when it peaked at 36 percent, according to International Data Corp, a United States-based information technology research firm. But industry insiders said the growth rate will rebound next year.

"It's a cycle in the domestic PC industry every four to five years and we believe the growth rate will rebound next year when the economy recovers," Wang Jiping, IDC's analyst, said in a statement.

Reconstruction of the IT infrastructure after the Sichuan earthquake on May 12 and the linkage between the country's industrialization and information will fuel PC demand in China, according to CCID Consulting, a Beijing-based research firm.

In the first half, China's PC sales totaled 19.54 million units, a 19.9-percent growth year on year. The consumer-oriented PCs, especially laptops, sold very well, according to IDC. In the period, laptop sales jumped 72 percent, fourfold the PC level industry-wide, according to IDC.

The UMPC, or ultra mobile personal computer, which boasts super mobility, Internet functions and are relatively cheap, will come under the spotlight in the near future.

ASUS, Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo and Acer have all launched UMPCs this year.

In future, the UMPC sales will equal those of laptops and both sectors will grow and coexist, according to ASUS.

(Shanghai Daily September 19, 2008)