It’s not only the major US and European computer manufacturers that are hurting in the personal computer recession – the ripples have reached Singapore’s micro manufacturers who say their industry has suffered severe price erosion since the start of this year and that they are seeking new markets and new ways of selling computers: the Xinhua Chinese news service says that the squeeze is likely to continue into 1992, with demand for personal computers locally and overseas unlikely to pick up from the present low levels; the wire service reports that gross profit margins of local manufacturers range from 5% to 15%, down from 15% to 25% during 1988-90, and that a further decline to between 2% to 5% is expected in the next 12 months; Singapore claims to have exported 31m personal computers in the first eight months of this year, about the same number as in the same period last year, but the total value fell to $23.34m, compared with $31m in 1990; the Microcomputer Trade Association of Singapore is advising members to move away from competing on price and instead to package products with software aimed at specific markets.
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