STAFF REPORT ISB: The PC market in the region is expected to experience yet another quarter of year-on-year growth in the third quarter of 2014, with shipments increasing by 10,6 per cent. The delivery of two massive education projects in Pakistan will contribute to this growth, reveals the fresh International Data Corp (IDC) data.
The data shows growth in both the desktop and portable categories, with the former growing by 2,9 per cent year on year to reach 1,8m units and the latter expanding by 1,7 per cent to reach 2,7m units.
However, the biggest growth didnt come from Africa. Rather, most of the growth in PC shipments came from markets such as Iran, Iraq, Syria, Yemen, Palestine and Afghanistan, despite no PC makers making any official PC shipments into these countries.
“The high volume of devices seen entering this sub-region came as parallel imports through second- and third-tier resellers,” said Fouad Rafiq Charakla, research manager for personal computing, systems, and infrastructure solutions at IDC Middle East, Turkey and Africa.
He, however, parts of this sub-region have recently witnessed increased levels of instability, particularly in Iraq, and demand is now forecast to slow down slightly as a result, although we dont expect these developments to prevent overall growth for 2014.”