Design software developer Autodesk has opened its Greater China headquarters in Hong Kong.
Based in California, the company has dominated the market in design and digital media creation for more than a decade. Its most famous application, AutoCAD, is widely used in architectural design and generates 35 per cent of revenue.
Discreet, a division of Autodesk, develops systems and software for visual and three-dimensional effects for the entertainment and film industries.
According to Martin Harris, Autodesk's director for Greater China, the company has been immune to the past year's technology downturn, seeing revenue grow 10 per cent from US$848 million in 2000 to US$936 million last year.
Mr Harris said with the booming construction industry in China boosted by entry to the World Trade Organisation and the 2008 Olympic Games, Autodesk would see several years of 'aggressive expansion'. It recently engaged in projects with the Shanghai Economic Trade Commission. The company also sees Hong Kong's economic slowdown as a good time for this growth.
The firm, which entered the mainland market in 1994, has about 60 people in its offices in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou. 'There is a combination of reasons for using Hong Kong as the regional headquarters. But there is a shortage of people in Shanghai and Beijing as the business grows too fast,' Mr Harris said.