Qcode Information Technology, whose software enables Chinese characters to be simply entered into computers, plans to list on the Growth Enterprise Market this year. It announced the plan after signing an agreement for Chinese Academy of Sciences subsidiary Redflag Software to promote its software in the mainland. Redflag Software will distribute the software via its Linux operating system and application software to government bodies and schools. Qcode had not decided how much to raise with its initial public offering, but said about HK$100 million would be needed to market its software. Qcode president Mark Leung Lap-yan said the company had mapped out a plan to market the software worldwide. It also wanted to sell its portable business machine to mainland businessmen and government departments. It contains all the functions of a personal digital assistant, needing just nine keys for Chinese-character input. Mr Leung said Qcode had spent HK$20 million on development and estimated his company should be worth about HK$2 billion. It is held 40 per cent by Asia Orient Holdings and 30 per cent each by Culturecom Holdings and its founders.
