MANILA, Philippines -- Lenovo is leading the pack in the personal computer systems market although rival PC vendors should likewise brace for another good year, based on latest data from research firm International Data Corp.

Latest figures from IDC show that the Asia Pacific (excluding Japan) PC market grew by more than 20 percent year-on-year reaching more than 66 million units shipped.

Lenovo remains in the lead with an 18-percent market share, over American rivals HP and Dell, followed by Taiwanese PC makers Acer and Founder.

HP, however, had a very good year in the region, shipping 52 percent more PCs last year, which IDC attributed to its aggressive marketing in the consumer space.

Dell, which used to be number one worldwide until HP zoomed ahead, likewise had a good year, growing its total units shipped by 22 percent.

According to IDC, portables (or laptops) were a key driver, with nearly every country posting double-digit growth in sales of notebook computers.

?It was a spectacular year for the PC market in Asia,? said Bryan Ma, Director of Asia/Pacific Personal Systems Research at IDC. ?Even though wild cards such as the US economy are looming overhead, the fundamentals are so solid that the market could very well beat our conservative expectations for 16.8-percent growth in 2008.?

IDC expects further competition in the notebook segment as vendors try to outdo each other with smaller and sexier-looking models this year.