Following twists and turns after its acquisition of IBM's PC department, Lenovo saw a rise in sales in the second quarter.

A report from the International Data Corporation (IDC) shows that Lenovo regained the championship in the Asia-Pacific (with Japan excluded) PC market in the second quarter with a market share of 19 percent far ahead of HP's (Hewlett-Packard) 12.3 percent.

"Recovery of China's market and the acquisition of IBM's PC department have both contributed to Lenovo's good performance," said Bryan Ma with IDC.

In the first quarter this year, closely following its deal with IBM, Lenovo suffered market share drop in the Asia-Pacific region and gave the first place to HP.

"Lenovo was then at crucial moment of adjustment and besides, its data in the first quarter did not include IBM's PC department," said Ma.

The sales recuperation of Lenovo in the second quarter was a kind of recovery which indicated to some extent that it was successful in the acquisition, said Mao Kaijun with the School of Economics and Management at Qinghua University.

IDC's report shows that the combined market shares of Lenovo and IBM in the Asian-Pacific region (with Japan excluded) was 18.8 percent in the second quarter last year.

"The 19 percent market share in the second quarter this year shows that Lenovo began to benefit from its pay earlier," said Mao.

As the No. 1 PC maker in China's market, Lenovo was the biggest beneficiary of the booming Chinese market.

The IDC reports that due to low prices and big demand from government departments, educational institutions and telecom companies, China's PC market has been on the rise in the second quarter.

Lenovo's acquisition of IBM's PC department had incurred doubts from insiders. People wondered whether the company could handle the integration of brands, sales channels and enterprise culture following the deal.

Meanwhile, world PC giants Dell and HP also posed a great challenge to Lenovo in the international market.

Lenovo and IBM declared completion of the acquisition on May 1.The new Lenovo is composed of the former Lenovo Group and former IBM's PC department. The annual revenue of the new company is expected to reach 13 million US dollars with a PC output of 140 billion sets.

The new Lenovo ranked third in the world PC market with a market share of 7 percent.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2005)