Sales of tablets, PCs in SE Asia rose in first 9 months—report

The sale of tablets such as the iPad2 (in photo) and personal computers in key Southeast Asian markets accelerated in the first nine months of 2012 amid improving consumer confidence in the region, according to research firm GfK.

MANILA, Philippines—The sale of tablets and personal computers (PCs) in key Southeast Asian markets accelerated in the first nine months of the year amid improving consumer confidence in the region.

Singapore-based research firm GfK in a report released this week said tablet and PC sales surged 12 percent in value and 26 percent in volume in the nine-month period. This translated to 8.8 million tablets and PCs sold, worth $4.72 billion.

“Southeast Asia’s laptop and tablet markets will continue to remain buoyant in the coming months with the region’s major developing markets being the growth engines,” said GfK Asia Digital Technology account director Gerard Tan.

In a statement, GfK said Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia were the three biggest markets for such gadgets and collectively consume over 70 percent of the region’s sales volume while contributing 67 percent to the overall dollar value.

GfK said two increasingly popular form factors that are rapidly being adopted across the region are tablets and ultrathin laptops.

Sales volume of ultrathin laptops, defined as those that are 2 cm or less in thickness, grew 259 percent over last year while tablet sales more than doubled.

To date, tablets make up a 33 percent of the total sales value of the overall market, compared to only 19 percent a year ago.

“Sales of tablets and laptops have surged across Southeast Asia, both contributing significantly to the growth of the overall market,” Tan said.