The Middle East information technology (IT) industry is bucking the global economic slowdown and is expected to grow by 30 percent in 2001, a leading reseller in the region said Wednesday, August 8.
"Governments, PC vendors, IT distributors and resellers in the Middle East are fighting the effects of the global economic slowdown," said Steve Lockie, managing director of Tech Data.
The Middle East's IT industry is expected "to grow by no less than 30 percent this year," Lockie said, adding that sales of both branded and assembled computers in the region have been "healthy".
Many Middle East governments are cutting import taxes and customs duties on IT-related products, which has lowered the prices of PCs and computer components, he said.
The Internet arrived late in the Middle East, and many oil-dependent governments have been pushing its development on the back of the boom in crude prices.
The Nasdaq-listed Tech Data, founded in 1974, is a global provider of IT products, logistics management and other value-added services, generating sales of $20.4 billion for its last fiscal year, which ended January 31, 2001. ― (AFP, Dubai)
© Agence France Presse 2001
© 2001 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
