news review China PC growth
CHINA’S domestic PC shipments in 2012 are set to rise at three times the rate of the global market, driven by strong economic growth and demand from the commercial sector, according to an IHS iSuppli China Electronics Research report. PC shipments in China for 2012 are projected to reach 83.6 million units, up 13.1 percent from 73.9 million units last year. In comparison, global shipments are set to increase by only 4.4 percent this year.
Domestic shipments of both desktop and notebook PCs to the Chinese market have been growing at robust double-digit rates for several years, and the healthy pace of expansion is set to continue for at least two more years before the market moderates slightly to a 9 percent increase in 2015. Shipments will amount to some 129.4 million units at the end of 2016, as shown in the figure attached, equivalent to a five-year compound annual growth rate of 12 percent.
“A result of the country’s fast-paced economic expansion, China’s PC shipment growth is exceptional, especially when compared to the tepid growth anticipated this year in PC shipments for the rest of the world,” said Elaine Zhi, analyst for China electronics research at IHS.
China’s domestic PC shipments are also impressive when compared to global or other regional sums. The country’s domestic PC shipments in 2012 are expected to be equivalent to 23 percent of the world’s total of 368 million units, and
they account for a staggering 63 percent of all PCs shipped in the Asia-Pacific region. Notebook PCs will lead China PC shipments this year, amounting to 42.5 million units, up from 35.8 million units in 2011. In comparison, desktop PCs will come in slightly lower at 41.1 million units, up from 38.1 million units.
The biggest PC maker in the country is Beijing-based Lenovo, projected to ship 29.9 million units domestically this year, equivalent to 36 percent of China’s domestic PC market. Following Lenovo in the Top 5 are Acer with 11 percent market share; Dell with 8 percent; Hewlett-Packard with 6 percent; and Asus, also with about 6 percent.
China’s export PC sector is bigger than its domestic counterpart. Full projections for this year are not yet available, but Chinese PC makers last year exported a total of 234.1 million notebooks and 37.2 million desktops. Quanta Computer, Hon Hai and Compal Electronics were the country’s Top 3 notebook PC exporters in 2011 with a combined market share of 64 percent; while Foxconn, Quanta and Pegatron were the Top 3 desktop PC exporters during the same time with a collective 53 % share.
Hon Hai and Foxconn are the same entities operating under different trade names, and the company as a whole is also among the world’s largest providers of outsourced manufacturing services, with clients including Apple, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Dell.
Panasonic commits to imec
programme IMEC and Panasonic have entered into the next phase of a collaboration agreement for joint R&D on healthcare, wireless communication, flexible electronics and advanced CMOS process technologies. The signing ceremony at the Panasonic Headquarters in Osaka was endorsed by the presence of His Royal Highness Prince Philippe of Belgium.
Panasonic has been a core partner in imec’s research platform on advanced semiconductor process technologies since 2004. This collaboration has been fundamentally broadened in 2008, expanding the collaboration scope from advanced semiconductor process technology to also include various application areas of semiconductors.
Throughout recent years, Panasonic residents have been working closely together with imec’s research teams both in Leuven, Belgium and Eindhoven, The Netherlands. Together, they have achieved breakthrough results in wireless communication, healthcare and next-generation CMOS technologies. The new agreement extends this collaboration for a period of 3 years and further expands to research on flexible electronics.
Luc Van den hove, President and CEO of imec, “I am very pleased that we will continue our strategic collaboration with Panasonic the coming years. The extension and expansion of our research collaboration is a confirmation of the value of our research offering to the industry. Through a collaborative approach of R&D, sharing resources and results, but also strongly protecting the generated IP, imec supports Panasonic already for 8 years to be at the forefront of innovation.”
Yoshiyuki Miyabe, the member of the board, managing director and CTO of Panasonic, “Panasonic continued to keep good relationship with imec for these 8 years. We hope to strengthen our “win-win” relationship for both imec and Panasonic to prosper.”
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www.siliconsemiconductor.net Issue III 2012
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