According to estimates of the International Data Corp. (IDC), by year-end the overall Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Information Technology (IT) market will be worth $4.1 billion — a 21 percent increase over 1999's $3.4 billion figure.
This sharp rise is mainly due to the increase in the number of PC's sold this year — 1.08 million units compared with last years’ 870,000 figure.
The UAE IT market is expected to grow by nearly 20 percent this year, to reach 2 billion Dirhams (Dh) — equivallent to more than $0.54 billion. IDC forecasts that PC imports to the UAE will also rise 53 percent — from 113,200 units in 1999 to 173,000 units in 2000.
Compaq, the U.S. computer company, captured a 37.3 percent market share of UAE’s IT market in the second quarter of 2000, as a result of a 127.6 percent growth in sales.
In Saudi Arabia, Compaq grew by 39 percent to reach 18.7 percent market share in the second quarter, while in Egypt IDC estimates the company’s market share at 15.4 percent, due to a 75 percent increase in sales. ― (Albawaba-MEBG)
© 2000 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
