Asia-Pacific demand for printers slows<\/p>\n
SINGAPORE (AFP): Demand for computer printers in the Asia-
\nPacific region is to expand at a slower pace of 14 percent this
\nyear after posting an explosive growth rate in 1996, global
\nmarket research company Dataquest said yesterday.<\/p>\n
The regional market grew by 32 percent last year to 4.9
\nmillion printers worth just over US$2.9 billion, it said.
\nFor 1997, U.S.-based Dataquest expects demand to approach 5.6
\nmillion units.<\/p>\n
"Massive buying in the past two years should slow down the
\nsales growth for this year," Yue Yean Feng, Singapore-based
\nindustry analyst for the Dataquest Asia-Pacific printer
\nprogram, told AFP.<\/p>\n
She said printer demand in the region, of which 10 economies
\nwere covered by the Dataquest survey, would remain robust in line
\nwith increasing demand for personal computers.<\/p>\n
Dataquest said in a statement South Korea, China, Australia
\nand Taiwan accounted for the four largest markets in Asia-
\nPacific, taking 66 percent of the region's shipped volume of
\nprinters last year.<\/p>\n
Six other economies accounted for the remaining 34 percent
\nshare, comprising -- in order of market size -- Malaysia, India,
\nHong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia and Thailand.<\/p>\n
"The emerging economies of Asia will continue to drive growth
\nin the regional printer market, particularly countries like
\nIndia, China and Indonesia where PC (personal computer)
\npenetration rates are low but growing very rapidly," Yue said.<\/p>\n
In 1996, the statement said slightly less than two printers
\nwere shipped for every three PCs in the Asia-Pacific region.
\nAmong the leading regional printer vendors in 1996, U.S. firm
\nHewlett-Packard Company (HP) regained its number one position on
\nthe basis of total shipments.<\/p>\n
HP led by a wider margin over number two Seiko Epson Corp. of
\nJapan than Epson enjoyed over HP in 1995, Dataquest said.
\nCanon of Japan remained in the number three position in 1996 but
\nimproved by a healthy margin on its 1995 total market share.<\/p>\n
"It is clear that the trend toward feature-rich branded PCs in
\nAsia in 1996 coincided with a regional printer market
\nincreasingly driven and populated by ever-cheaper color ink
\njets," Dataquest said.<\/p>\n
In 1996, for the first time, ink jet models comprised a
\nmajority of the Asia-Pacific printer market volume and Dataquest
\nsaid the success of color ink jets had already begun to erode the
\nposition of low-end monochrome laser models in the region.<\/p>\n
It said one of the factors that would negatively impact the
\nrate of growth in the overall printer market in the Asia-Pacific
\nwas the declining rate of new hardware, particularly PC,
\npurchases in the most mature markets, South Korea and Australia.<\/p>",
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