China's budding software industry

China's booming economy is spurring the country's demand for information technology. Almost 6.5 million personal computers were sold and 8.6 million units produced in China in 2000, continuing an annual increase of more than 25 percent since 1993. Economists expect China to become one of the biggest PC markets in the world as it enters the new century, which is a unique opportunity for growth in both enterprise and personal computing. Our software market has grown at an average rate of 35 percent over the last four years (1997-2001), with no indication of slowing down. Total sales approached US$6.75 billion last year (2000) and $9 billion is expected this year (2001) (sales of brand-name software packages were $2.12 billion). Since 1997, the home PC has gained unprecedented popularity here, occupying nearly 35.2 percent of the total PC market in the last year. Internet applications have become a driving force in home PC purchases. Currently, China has 22.5 million Internet users and 80 million cable TV users, averaging 21 email messages received and 10 sent per user, per week. However, the lack of application services presents a sharp contrast that opens a great potential market for the local software industry.