JUNE 9--The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in China has given a boost to the country's booming information industry, with those people forced to stay indoors for weeks buying more computers and mobile phones and using the Internet to stay in touch with the outside world, according toFinancial Times. China's information industry saw a phenomenal growth of 29% in the first four months of this year, despite the outbreak of SARS, the ministry of information industry (MII) has said. MII statistics for January--April show sales of the manufacturing sector of the information and electronics industries totaled 452.4 billion yuan ($54.7 billion), up 28.9% over the same period last year. Software products sales were 45 billion yuan ($5.4 billion), up 22%.
An MII official said the outbreak of SARS boosted on-line business, teaching, and governmental administration, which was obviously an impetus for the computer products market. "Despite the outbreak of SARS, the whole information industry maintained strong momentum and continued to be a major driving force behind the country's industrial growth," the official said.
By the end of April, sales of personal computers and displays increased by 60.1% and 53%, respectively, over the same period last year, with the proportion of laptops in PC sales amounting to 20.2%, up from 7.2% last year. The industry turned in profits totaling 17.1 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), up 21% year on year, and recorded imports and exports totaling 72.44 billion yuan ($8.8 billion), up 51.5%.
