SINGAPORE: Personal computer sales in Asia ended two consecutive quarters of contraction to post robust growth in the second quarter of 2009, a report released Monday said.

Information technology analysts IDC said 19.9 million PC units were sold in the Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan from April to June this year, an increase of 19 percent over the first quarter.

Year-on-year growth was eight percent, well above forecasts, and it was the first time the numbers were positive after six months of decline, IDC added.

Bryan Ma, IDC's director of Asia-Pacific personal systems research, said portable PCs will be a major growth driver in the coming months.

"Ongoing consumer interest in portable PCs will continue to be the key moving forward, especially as both low-cost mini-notebooks and new ultra-thin notebooks help to drive the market into next year," he said.

Lenovo remained the region's leading brand for PCs, posting 18.5 percent market share in the first quarter, with Hewlett-Packard taking 16.2 percent, Dell 8.4 percent and Acer 7.5 percent.