In fact, sales were 12 percent higher in the previous quarter compared with the same quarter a year ago, said the report.
"Although the quarter got off to a rough start due to the SARS impact on retail sales in markets like Hong Kong, Singapore, and the PRC, the stemming of the epidemic due to stringent measures helped improve sales by the end of the quarter," according to the study.
SARS--severe acute respiratory syndrome--is the flulike virus which spread across several Asian countries in April and May this year, causing dozens of deaths and slowing down local economies.
"We can breathe a sigh of relief, though the slow global economy remains a key barrier to a more significant recovery in the market," said Bryan Ma, a senior research manager with IDC Asia/Pacific.
IDC's preliminary results showed that the Asia/Pacific (excluding Japan) PC market totaled 6.5 million units in the second quarter of 2003, a 2 percent gain from the previous quarter and 12 percent higher than the same period a year ago.
The second half of 2003 won't be as rosy as the first half, given that buying demand pent up by SARS had already showed itself before the close of the second quarter, said IDC.
Nearly all countries in the region saw shipment growth compared to the same period a year ago.
Australia gained from increasing purchasing power and an emerging Y2K replacement cycle. The PC market in Thailand also increased as a result of a price war that erupted among local vendors in an early response to a government initiative to bring low-cost PCs to the masses. Unfortunately, Korea continued to be plagued by a reduction in consumer spending and a stagnant economy resulting from labor-management disputes, said the report.
Most of large vendors in the region grew both sequentially and year-on-year in unit shipments this quarter.
Legend stayed incumbent leader in the region with double-digit sequential and year-on-year percentage gains despite the temporarily negative effects of SARS in China. HP stayed in second place.
IBM made an impressive showing with gains in almost all countries, particularly in Australia and New Zealand. Similarly, fourth place Dell posted strong gains in nearly all countries in the region, while Chinese vendor Founder replaced Samsung to round out the top 5, said the report.
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