German IT association raises 2012 sales forecast

FRANKFURT Oct 18 (Reuters) - German industry association Bitkom raised its forecast for sales of information and telecommunication technology (ICT) for this year on the back of demand for tablet computers and smartphones.

"Private consumers and industry are currently investing more in new equipment and solutions," IT body Bitkom's chief Dieter Kempf said on Thursday.

Bitkom now sees German ICT sales rising 2.8 percent to 152 billion euros ($199 billion), up from a previous forecast for a 1.6 percent gain.

Tablet computer sales will rise 41 percent this year to 1.6 billion euros, while smartphone sales will rise by almost half to close to 8 billion euros, Bitkom predicted.

The association sees growth slowing in 2013, with sales up 1.6 percent at 154.3 billion euros, as entertainment electronics suffer from pricing pressure and competition from products such as Apple's iPad that combine a number of functions in one device.