According to IDC statistics, in 2001 the sales volume of the Chinese software market amounted to US $1.7 billion, an increase of 62.8 percent over 2000. The IDC predicts that between 2001 and 2006, the software market will grow at an annual average rate of 37.8 percent to reach a sales volume of US $8.6 billion, equivalent to 70 billion yuan, in 2006.In the face of the international market slump, software giants such as Microsoft, IBM, HP, Oracle and SAP are looking to China with competition in mind.