"We are working on the establishment of another research centre in Beijing after the formal launch of the first centre in Shenzhen on June 1," said Chris Hummel, vice-president of Oracle's Asia Pacific operation.

According to another Oracle source, the US software giant will realize the goal before its 2003 fiscal year, which ends on May 31.

Hummel did not specify the exact function of the Beijing R&D facility Tuesday, but he said it might be used for the localization of Oracle's business applications for the public sector, which is controlled by the central government.

The Shenzhen centre, currently named Oracle China Development Centre, now already has 100 staff to focus on the localization of Oracle's products and the innovation of products suitable to local needs, such as applications based on mobile phone systems.

To further tap the potential of China's market, the US company moved its annual Oracle World to Beijing, which will be Oracle's biggest conference in the Asia Pacific region.

The meeting, scheduled until this Friday, has attracted more than 5,000 delegates from across the globe as well as 100 Oracle senior executives, including its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Larry Ellison, who is expected to deliver a key note speech Wednesday with the title "Oracle and China: Partners from the future."

The company will also bring its latest Oracle 9i Database and Oracle e-Business Suite to the conference.

"This shows Oracle's strong commitment to China, its partners and Chinese enterprises," said Hummel.

He also said 91 percent of Oracle's China business is conducted in cooperation with its partners, while 70 percent of its customers are domestic businesses.

(China Daily June 12, 2002)