(Yicai) Feb. 26 -- Kingdee International Software Group, a leading Chinese enterprise management software developer, said it has established a regional headquarters in Qatar to expand its presence in the Middle East.

"The establishment of this regional HQ has been facilitated through the support of the Qatar Investment Authority, the sovereign wealth of Qatar, Invest Qatar, the investment promotion agency of Qatar, and the Qatar Free Zones Authority," where the HQ is located, Kingdee announced today.

The QIA invested USD200 million in Kingdee in December 2023, recognizing the Shenzhen-based company as a category leader and key enabler of enterprise cloud transformation in China, according to the firm.

"Today marks a pivotal moment in the global expansion plans of Kingdee," said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Xu. "Following the investment by the QIA in December 2023, we are excited to further strengthen our collaboration with Qatar by opening our first office in the Middle East, in Qatar's Free Zones.

"We are excited to collaborate with the QIA, Invest Qatar, and the QFZ to bridge the gap between Kingdee and the Middle Eastern market, supporting Kingdee's international growth strategy," Xu noted.

Kingdee will "leverage Qatar as a bridgehead" to expand its footprint into the Middle Eastern and North African markets, driving the digital transformation of local companies and supporting the city to achieve its National Vision 2030, which aims to transform it into an advanced society capable of sustainable development, according to Xu.

The QFZ will provide Kingdee with a strategically positioned platform that strengthens its regional presence, cultivates high-impact collaborations, and contributes to the evolution of enterprise digitalization, the company pointed out.

Founded in 1993, Kingdee has expanded its businesses from software as a service to cloud services. It got the USD200 million investment from the QIA, the largest by a Middle Eastern sovereign fund in China's software sector, for a 4.3 percent stake.

Kingdee's net loss narrowed 23 percent to CNY218 million (USD30 million) in the first half of last year from a year earlier, it said in a financial report. Its revenue rose 12 percent to CNY2.9 billion (USD399.5 million), with the domestic market accounting for over 99 percent of the total.

Editor: Martin Kadiev