Acer, the world’s second-largest PC maker, said its business unit in China, with help from new tablet PCs, will contribute heavily to its sales in the next five years.

Chairman J.T. Wang, speaking at the China Investment Summit, said the computer manufacturer estimates its operations in China will make up more than 20% of its total sales by 2015. He attributed the growth to the tablet device market, where Acer’s competitors include the Apple iPad and the Samsung Galaxy Tab. White Papers

“Tablet is a huge market and it shows a new path for new growth,” Wang said, according to Reuters, and Acer wants “to become a significant player as soon as possible.”

The company, which debuted two Android-based tablet computers in November, is hoping to capture a 15% to 20% share of the global tablet PC market next year, Reuters reported.

In November, research firm Strategy Analytics issued a report that the iPad held a 95% share of the tablet market, as of the third quarter.

Tablet shipments are expected to reach between 40 million and 50 million units by 2013, according to ABI Research. IDC has projected tablet shipments to grow an average 57.4% between 2010 and 2014. And Forrester Research is projecting that tablet computers will outsell netbooks in two years in the United States.

Acer, along with rivals Asustek Computer, Toshiba, and Samsung, are reportedly planning to launch tablets powered with Nvidia’s Tegra 2 chips, which are known for having strong graphics performance and support for Adobe Flash and 3D games. The Chinese newspaper Digitimes is also reporting that half of all ARM-based tablet PC shipments next year will be Tegra 2-based models.

Acer’s China operations account for 7% of the company’s total sales now and its tablet growth may increase its revenue to $2.5 billion in 2011 from $1 billion this year, Wang said. Acer also sells smartphones.

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