Business Potential of Chinese IT Industry Worth Three Trillion Yuan

The business revenues of the Chinese software industry in the first quarter of this year increased to 345.4 billion yuan (US$53.04 billion), representing a year-on-year growth of 27 percent. Chinese software exports in the first quarter also totaled US$6.75 billion, representing a year-on-year increase of 24.3 percent, according to official data.

By 2015, the expectation is that revenues of the software industry will rise above three trillion yuan (US$460.67). The figures suggest significant opportunities in related industries.
With the global information technology industry continuing its pace of growth, global IT expenditure in 2010 is expected to exceed 5.1 percent.

This growing trend is particularly apparent in emerging countries, such as China, where the IT industry and IT-related sub-industries are experiencing rapid growth. Indeed, in 2010, several software companies in the mainland increased the number of employees to keep up with growth. While the pace of employee expansion is expected to slow down in 2011, companies could report an improvement in profits as employee costs stabilize.

With government and corporate demand for IT products on the rise, various technologies and applications have been developed to meet demands. New applications and domestic alternative products are expected to be the two main areas for industry investments. Moreover, there have been calls for increased investments in EMV IC cards, information security, the "network of things" and cloud computing.

The Securities Times reported that the major opportunities offered by IT industries depended on the trend of developing domestic high-end IT alternatives; applications of emerging new products; and long-term potential demand.


Even as the overall IT industry expands quickly, some related sub-industries are also poised to benefit hugely. The first sub-industry that is likely to benefit is the aviation management software sector. Currently, there are only four civil aviation airports in China that use locally developed aviation management systems. The market for this type of software could expand by several times.

The second sub-industry with good potential involves the computerization of the architectural services industry. There is still ample room for companies specializing in this area to develop, and sales in the sector are expected to hit record highs during 2011.

Moreover, with a recovering economy, the operations of small- and medium-sized enterprises have improved significantly; their IT expenses are also expected to increase in tandem, providing a good opportunity for IT product manufacturers.