Jakarta  18  September, 2008 – The Bangladesh PC market has rebounded, with an  impressive 9.4% sequential growth in the Client PC market in 2Q08 and a 19.8%  growth year on year, following last year's political instability and double  natural  disasters  of  the  monsoon flood and Hurricane Sidr which

dampened overall business. Overall, the market closed the second quarter of 2008  with  50,102  total  units  shipments. IDC forecasts the full year PC shipment  in  2008  will be higher than last year, despite concerns about a market slowdown in 4Q08 as the country enters into the Election period.

Commercial  PC  accounted  for 67% of the total market in the first half of the  year.  Growth  in  the  commercial segment was driven by major banking deals  from  January  to June, although the bigger contributors were mainly Small-Medium  Businesses  and  SOHO.  "The  fragile  economic  stability in
Bangladesh  continues  to  limit  the  growth  of the commercial PC market, however, the market still managed to grow during the last two quarters with minimal  disruptions,"  said  Handoko  Andi,  Market  Analyst  for Personal Systems  Research  at  IDC.  "While  the  market is poised to take off, the
monsoon  season  in  3Q  and  government  elections  in  December  may pose challenges that could restrict its growth."

As  a  result   of  the country's Election project, the Commercial Notebook segment performed extremely well in the first quarter of 2008, a feat which could  not be matched in the second quarter as no other projects came close to  the  massive number of PC units purchased. Moreover, in the form-factor
segment,  the recent and current inflation in Bangladesh finally put an end to  the  previously  unstoppable market of Consumer Notebook. Overall, 2Q08 Notebook  market  slowed  down  by  35% sequentially, despite an impressive growth  of  45%  compared to the same period last year. Inflation, however,
has  led  to  a stronger growth of the Desktop market as end-users purchase has shifted to the more traditional and cheaper PC instead.

"In  2Q08,  almost  all  Desktop  PC sold in Bangladesh are priced below US $1,000,  while  76%  of  Notebook  PC sold were between US$500 to US$1,500. During  a  weak  economic  situation,  end  users  will tend to buy cheaper alternative or delay their PC purchase altogether," said Andi.