SINGAPORE, Jan 20: Personal computer sales in the Asia Pacific region are expected to grow 15 per cent this year, an industry monitor said amid upbeat forecasts for the technology sector.

More than 48 million units were sold last year, up 17 per cent from 2005 on the back of the growing popularity of notebook computers, which accounted for 27 per cent of the shipments, International Data Corp said.

It said in a statement that much of the region's growth last year came from China, India and South Korea.

“Spurred by increasingly affordable models and healthy competition among the vendors, interest in notebooks also reached record levels,” said IDC analyst Bryan Ma.

“2007 should grow by at least 15pc, which is slightly lower than 2006 due to the increasing sizes of the markets but is still very healthy with the weight of key markets such as China and India behind it.”—AFP