Dell Inc yesterday established its Chinese design center and one of its global sales centers in Shanghai to strengthen its business and grab a bigger market share in China.

The US-based information giant will conduct some research and development on its laptop computers at the design center, which is located in Changning District in the west of the city. The sales center will boost Dell's business in China.

"China has become the world's fourth largest market for Dell," Kevin B. Rollins, Dell's president and chief operating officer, said at the opening ceremony yesterday. "We can consolidate our market resources in China through the newly built centers in Shanghai."

Dell said its revenue in the Chinese computer market reached US$8 billion last year, almost double the previous year's level.

IDC Corp, a US-based IT consulting firm, said yesterday that shipments of personal computers in the Asia Pacific region, excluding Japan, totaled 7.4 million units in the first quarter of 2004, up 16 percent year on year.

IDC attributed the growth to seasonal trends in PC replacement during the Lunar new year, a traditional Chinese festival.

Dell has a 7.3 percent share of the Chinese personal computer market last year, following Beijing-based Lenovo Group Ltd's 10.9 percent, US-based Hewlett Packard Inc's 10.8 percent and IBM Corp's 7.4 percent, said IDC.

Dell's market share in the first quarter jumped 51.5 percent year on year, narrowing the gap with the top three PC vendors in the region.

To counter Dell's expansion in China, Lenovo said recently that it had started a direct sales business in Chinese mainland.

Source: Shanghai Daily news