Sales of personal computers in the Asia Pacific, excluding Japan, should grow 16 per cent this year after a strong rebound in the fourth quarter of 2009, industry monitor IDC said on Tuesday.

IDC said in a statement PC sales rose 32 per cent in the three months to December last year from the same period in 2008, powered by strong demand for portable computers.

The global financial crisis that struck in the third quarter of 2008 hammered family and company budgets, leading to a collapse in demand for consumer goods.

For the whole of 2009, sales of personal computers in the Asia Pacific climbed 14 per cent over the previous year, but still far short of the 22 per cent growth achieved in 2007, IDC said. 'It's reassuring to see the market getting up on its feet so quickly, although that was of course being compared to a dismal fourth quarter 2008 period during the global financial crisis,' said IDC analyst Bryan Ma.

'An insatiable consumer thirst for portable PCs across both mature and developing markets should continue to fuel 2010 while commercial budgets slowly recover throughout the course of the year.' IDC said it expects regional PC sales to grow 16 per cent this year and expand by 18 per cent in 2011.

Chinese computer-maker Lenovo was the top vendor in 2009, with nearly 20 per cent market share, followed by Hewlett-Packard with a market share of around 17 per cent.

Dell was in third place with an 8.7 per cent market share, followed by Acer with 8.5 per cent.