Booming IT market

 

That information offers a big hope for local and foreign players to tap into the market, as demand for the devices – desktop computers, notebooks and tablets - is expected to expand rapidly in the next few years after the introduction of 3G phone services. 

Aung Kyaw Moe, director Client Focus Technology Group, an authorised Epson distributor, said that the demand comes chiefly from students and office users, aged around 15-30 years.  They are buoying the market, when government and business sectors are careful over spending due to huge investment needs on basic infrastructure.

“They are looking for “entry-level” products to support their lifestyles,” he said, referring to today’s buyers.

Aung Kyaw Moe said that all over the country, only 60,000 devices have been in use now. While 30 per cent is desktop computer, the rest are notebooks and tablets. The price of a notebook computer at the entry level is around US$300- US$400. Meanwhile, the US$100 tablet device is popular among customers.

He added that the tablet market is growing fast in the country, like in other parts of the world, while sale of notebook is rather stagnant. Desktop computer sale is however declining.  

At present, Yangon – the country’s biggest commercial city – generates 80 per cent of IT product sales in the country. The IT mall on Seikkatha Street now boasts over 70 IT shops, owned by 45 owners. 

The local businessman expects the market would be more vibrant when new telecom players offer their 3G services. This will help boost the number of Internet users in the country from around 5-6 million to around 10 million in the next few years.

The maximum of high speed Internet service is 1 Mbps. 

Anothai Wettayakorn, managing director of Dell Corporation (Thailand), said that the overall IT market growth will jump once the 3G service is available. 

Overseeing the bright future, Dell has appointed three distributors in Myanmar to take care of both commercial and consumer markets.  

“The IT market in Myanmar has been growing by over 100 per cent in every segment and many international companies have set up IT infrastructure to support their operations in the country,” said Anothai.