Dell to buy US$23 bln worth of components from China in 2008

Dell Inc, the world's second-largest PC maker, will purchase US$23 billion of components from China in 2008, looking to reduce costs amid an economic recession in the U.S., where half of its revenue comes from.

This is part of Dell's plan of purchasing about US$70 million of computer-related supplies and equipment from China during the 2007-2009 period, according to the company's founder and CEO Michael Dell. The U.S. firm has bought about US$18 billion of component from China last year.

The U.S. PC maker has been raising the purchase volume in Asia in recent years to cut manufacturing costs and maintain competitiveness, analysts said, it is eying to bite a bigger Chinese market share from the Chinese rival Lenovo<992> when the country's largest computer maker is expanding overseas.

Dell's sales in China soared 54% year-on-year in the fourth quarter of 2007, according to Michael, adding that it will launch new products specially designed for Chinese consumers this year.