China's leading software maker UFSoft set up its first office outside the mainland in Hong Kong Wednesday, with a view to expanding into the Southeast Asia and the global market as a whole.

Chief Executive Officer of UFSoft Brett Ho noted at a ceremony that the company planed to invest US$384,000 in developing and expanding the Hong Kong market, which will employ 30 local professional IT staff in the next two years to form a strong sales and marketing team.

Ho pointed out, "As an international city which is home to many of the world's great companies, Hong Kong is the natural choice for UFSoft to set up its first international office. This will allow us to expand our horizons to South East Asia and globally."

According to Ho, the Chinese Central Government's support for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and the implementation of the recently concluded Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) gave him confidence that Hong Kong's economy will grow and prosper.

Associate Director-General of Investment Promotion at Invest Hong Kong John Rutherford expressed his delight that mainland private enterprises like UFSoft are taking advantage of Hong Kong as the springboard to regional and global markets.

The Chinese mainland is Hong Kong's major source of external investment, accounting for nearly US$123 billion of direct investment in Hong Kong at the end of 2001. Some 270 mainland companies have either regional headquarters or offices in Hong Kong as of June 2002.

(Xinhua News Agency September 18, 2003)