Apple Inc. will start sales of music and movies through the iTunes store in Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan and nine other Asian markets as it expands in the region.

Customers in Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Vietnam will also be able to buy music and rent movies through the iTunes store, Apple said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday. Consumers in these countries have so far only been able to buy apps from the App Store.

The Asia-Pacific region excluding Japan accounted for 21 percent of Apple뭩 revenue last fiscal year, growing from 13 percent a year before, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The share of sales generated in the Americas, Europe and Japan declined for the Cupertino, California-based maker of iPod music players and iPad tablet computers.

(Bloomberg)