SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- Dell Inc.'s business is experiencing fast growth in Asia and the outlook for laptop computers is bright, CEO Michael Dell said Tuesday.
''Dell experienced 41 percent unit growth in Asia Pacific and Japan region'' in the fourth quarter, Dell, founder and also chairman of the world's second-largest personal computer maker, told reporters in Seoul.
Dell said that in the fourth quarter the company's laptop business in the Asia Pacific grew over 70 percent. Industry research firm IDC estimates that the laptop business is growing about 21 percent year-on-year in the region, he said.
''We think that the laptop is going to continue to be a big driver for growth for our business here and all over the world,'' Dell said.
Dell also said his company has become the number one provider of servers in the United States and China. Servers are computers that store large amounts of data for distribution to individual users.
The company, based in Round Rock, Texas, said last month that fourth-quarter profit dropped 6.4 percent in the quarter ended Feb. 1.
Dell is counting on growth in emerging markets to counter weakness in the United States, where customers such as financial-services firms are reining in spending on technology.
