Oracle Corp, the world's No 2 software firm, grew Asia-Pacific revenue 13 percent in its third quarter and said Wednesday it would not rule out buying a local player in China or India to expand its slice of those markets.

California-based Oracle said it raked in US$425 million in sales from the region, helped by a 21 percent jump in new application license revenue, in the fiscal quarter ended February 28.

Now, winning an intensifying battle in China with rivals SAP AG and Microsoft Corp could prove pivotal in its business of selling database systems, applications servers and business software.

The trio are taking the fight to China, whose US$30.5 billion software market is estimated to be growing some 20 percent annually and proving a magnet for software vendors grappling with saturated developed markets.

Oracle had said record growth could make China its No 2 market in three years in Asia, which now accounts for 14 percent of global turnover. The software giant is pondering acquisitions in the region despite the tech sector's seesaw outlook.

"China and India are going to be the markets where everybody is looking to grow their businesses substantially. We will be no different," Derek Williams, Asia-Pacific executive vice-president, said.

Oracle's three largest markets in Asia are Japan, South Korea and China, in that order.

In China, Oracle and its rivals are grappling with homegrown upstarts such as Kingdee International Software Group Co and Beijing UFSoft.

(Shenzhen Daily March 31, 2005)