BEA Systems Inc, a US-based business software maker, is looking to make acquisition s to carve a larger slice out of the China market, senior company officials said.

"BEA is now seriously looking at acquisition opportunities in China and it will expand its local operation significantly in the next two or three years," said Alfred Chuang, BEA's chairman and chief executive officer at BEA World 2006, an annual company event.

BEA is the world's sixth largest independent software provider and develops networks helping businesses run operations like billing and data management.

It has seen its business grow rapidly in China as the nation's enterprises and government agencies have started using advanced IT systems to increase efficiency.

The company said its business grew 40 per cent in China last year while it has maintained an annual growth of 50 per cent in the past three years.

Currently, the Asia Pacific region accounts for 15 per cent of BEA's revenue while China and India have been its fastest growing markets.

Chuang first revealed BEA's intention to acquire local companies last year. The company hasn't sealed any deals yet.

It has increased its R&D staff by 20 per cent to 500, which it said is important preparation for acquiring other firms.

The company hopes to increase its product portfolio through the acquisitions as well as enhance its local distribution channel, according to Chuang.

BEA has acquired a slew of companies in other countries with new technology in the past two years.

The company has been under great pressure in recent years due to fierce competition from International Business Machines Corp and Oracle Corp.

"We expect to gain larger market share here in the coming years," said Shane Pearson, BEA's vice president of product management.

The company said its product of service oriented architecture (SOA), or networks facilitating business processes, has become a powerful engine for the rapid growth of BEA in China.

It had 28.9 per cent of China's middleware market by the end of this September, the largest share among all players, the company said, citing figures from Analysts International, an IT consultancy.

The company has been advocating its service oriented architecture.

"Since we have been in China for ten years, our relationship with local partners will help us maintain the lead," Pearson said.

BEA achieved a partnership this month with Huawei Technologies , one of China's leading network equipment provider, to tap opportunities in China's upcoming third generation (3G) mobile services.

Telecommunication, banking and public services have been the strongest growth areas for BEA in the past years.

The company is now in talks with State Grid Corporation of China to sell its middleware products.

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