Sri Lanka IT Industry Report for 2010 Q4. Market to Grow to US$632mn from Present $327mn

07th January 2011, www.businesswire.com

Sri Lanka Information Technology Report provides industry professionals and strategists, corporate analysts, information technology associations, government departments and regulatory bodies with independent forecasts and competitive intelligence on Sri Lanka's information technology industry.

Market Overview

Sri Lanka's IT market is estimated to be worth US$327mn in 2010, just 2% the size of India's, but is expected to grow to around US$632mn within BMI's five-year forecast period. The computer market has comfortably been growing at a double-digit CAGR for the past several years, yet the penetration rate remains below 1%. Computerisation has only just got started in the government service.

Sri Lanka's IT market has considerable latent potential, but has been handicapped over the years by the country's economic instability, due largely to the long-running civil war. This has impacted the market in multiple ways, from disruption of regional and distribution channels to the negative effect on the economic and incomes growth and the underdevelopment of the country's telecoms infrastructure.

In 2010, the consumer PC segment will benefit from lower interest rates and more credit availability, while the Computers for Education programme will continue to receive government investment in 2010. The projected 2010-2014 CAGR of 18% would make Sri Lanka one of the fastest-growing markets in the region, albeit from a low base.

Industry Developments

In August 2010, Sri Lankan Deputy Finance and Planning Minister Dr Sarath Amunugama said that IT would play an important role in helping the government to achieve its targets for growth. The Minister called on foreign IT companies to invest in Sri Lanka and partner with the government to apply IT to assist development.

The Sri Lankan government's e-Sri Lanka strategy outlines the country's vision for information society development and forms the basis for initiatives related to ICT development.

The decision by the Sri Lankan government announced in H110 to reduce import duties on electronic goods by around 3.5% should result in a further reduction of local market PC prices. The move will lead to a reduction in tax on imported CPUs, thus leading to lower prices for locally assembled computers.

In 2010, the government plans to roll out another 1,500 computer labs for Sri Lankan schools. This is in addition to the 3,500 that have already been constructed in both rural and urban areas, with around 6,000 planned in total.

The government designated 2009 as the year of IT (and English) in Sri Lanka. At the end of the year, the country continued to roll out new IT and education-related initiatives.

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For more information visit : http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/48da79/sri_lanka_informat