SAP to double China workforce

German software maker SAP wants to double the size of its China workforce by end 2013, thanks to the company's rapid expansion in serving small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) in the country despite an uncertain economic outlook.

China Daily reported last Friday, citing Robert Enslin, president of sales and a member of SAP's global managing board, as saying recruitment may be faster than expectations amid rapid growth of the company's China business.

Chinese SMBs are more eager than ever to rely on information technologies to reduce their transportation and operations costs, especially when the economic outlook goes bad, Enslin said.

Hera Siu, president of SAP China, said in the same report SMBs accounted for 79 percent of the company's customers in China, and helped generate about half of the revenue.

China Daily noted that China's GDP (gross domestic product) growth slowed to 7.6 percent in the second quarter this year, the lowest quarterly expansion in three years, but the IT industry is growing faster than other sectors.

Enslin said SAP was in a good position to enlarge its profit margin as the Chinese government encourages IT development throughout industries, boosting demand for IT services. SAP was also poised to make more cooperative partnerships and acquisitions deals to feed growing demand in emerging markets, he added.

China Daily said in the first half of this year, SAP added about 1,000 employees to its sales team in China, as part of the company's four-year US$2 billion investment plan in China which was announced last year. Currently, SAP has more than 3,500 employees in China, it added.

Last Friday, SAP said in a statement it had its best quarterly performance in China with more than 30 percent growth in software license revenue, and announced its long-term commitment to invest and grow in the country.