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Aladdin Knowledge Systems, a digital security solutions provider, announced plans to double its business in the Chinese market this year now that the company has formally launched its first China corporate office in Hong Kong.
"To date, we have about 600 active clients on the Chinese mainland and we aim to increase our sales substantially in 2004," said Warren Stein, general manager of Aladdin Asia Ltd, a subsidiary company which is responsible for Aladdin's business in China and the Asia-Pacific region.
"It's hard to tell exact sales figures so far, but we believe we will at least double the business here this year," Stein said yesterday in Shanghai.
Aladdin's new corporate office in Hong Kong, which is the company's second regional office in Asia and its 10th worldwide, will primarily focus on China's burgeoning software market by providing direct customer service and promoting localized sales, according to Stein.
The two main products the company will promote in China currently are HASP (Hardware Against Software Piracy), a kind of hardware-based software security systems, and the USB-based eToken device for user authentication and e-commerce security, according to company releases.
Software piracy is a global problem and illegal use of software cost developers US$13.08 billion last year, according to statistics provided by the company.
Piracy rates are close to 95 per cent in some countries and more than 37 per cent of all software usage worldwide involves illegal copies, according to company statistics.
"It is very gratifying to see China is taking steps to stamp out software piracy and to protect companies' intellectual property, and Aladdin can certainly help," said Aladdin International Sales Vice-President Eli Keren.
"China is an increasingly strategic market for Aladdin's anti-piracy and enterprise security solutions."
China's software industry is estimated by independent research firm Gartner to generate around US$27 billion worth of exports, with an average annual growth rate of 620 per cent.
The company is already making headway in the fast-growing market by working with partners in Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Shanghai and Beijing.
"In the future, we plan to set up a distribution company and a technical support centre in China, and also possibly localize part of our production," said Stein.
"I know there are certain risks but we feel increasingly confident."
Founded in 1985 in Israel, Aladdin has been selling its products for at least 10 years in China, with domestic customers like Founder and Usoft-anyi Technology.
With a global network of resellers and distributors in over 100 countries worldwide, Aladdin reported record global revenues of US$54.7 million in 2003, according to company statistics.


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