Growth of Zhuhai software industry phenomenal

Zhuhai's software industry has witnessed exponential growth over the past five years (2012-16) with main business revenue of 62.28 billion yuan ($9 billion) generated in 2016. This is up 19.9 percent year on year, according to the Zhuhai Software Industry Association.

The revenue is 60 times of that in 2000, which marks advances by leaps and bounds. The average annual growth rate of the city software industry reached 21.23 percent over the past five years.

The huge economic returns are credited with the development of industrial parks. In 2016, main business revenue of the Tangjiawan Main Industrial Area in the Zhuhai Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone reached 45.95 billion yuan ($6.7 billion), increasing by 28.58 percent and accounting for 73.79 percent of the total industry. Strong support for the software and integrated circuit (IC) industry attracted an ever-increasing number of businesses.

Hengqin New Area with constantly improving industrial support and living facilities yielded 619 million yuan ($89.7 million) last year -- year-on-year growth of 64.63 percent.

Apex Microelectronics workshop [File photo]

Apex Microelectronics as a most representative enterprise has rapidly expanded since it landed on the capital market in 2014. Apex first acquired Static Control Components (SCC), a US-based company that makes a wide range of technology products for use in remanufactured toner cartridges. Then, it took over world-renowned printer and software company Lexmark with 26 billion yuan ($3.8 billion), which was hailed as the most exciting cross-border merger globally in 2016.

After about four years' effort, the software information industry in Zhuhai has grown from the technology sourcing stage of cloud computing into the flourishing and rapid popularization phase. WPS+ Cloud Office of Kingsoft, Flyme of Meizu Technology, and Mi Cloud of Xiaomi are examples that established a whole set of basic cloud services covering all mobile devices and computers. Meanwhile, projects of Zhuhai Pilot Technology, Biolight, Changyuan Group, and Newgateway Information Technology won the 2016 Guangdong Industrial & Information Technology Special Fund awards. 

The proceeding of Smart City construction drives an active growth of new markets and software and the IT service industry. The number of related service providers exceeded 93 in 2016 in the areas of security, intelligent transportation, urban management, e-government, finance, social security, environmental protection, smart industrial parks, and corporate IT services. They had sales revenue of 4.39 billion yuan ($636.3 million).

Last year, the Smart City card mobile payments app of Eastcompeace Technology was applied by urban card companies nationwide. Moreover, Ximo Electric Technology created an intelligent fire evacuation indicator system, which has been operated in more than 300 large- and medium-sized projects throughout the country. Meanwhile, Pilot Technology had its "Internet Plus Town" smart-energy demonstration project listed among the country's first batch in the field.