The world's sixth biggest independent software firm BEA Systems Inc announced the building of its research and development (R&D) centre in Beijing yesterday and vowed to build it into a world-leading facility in the industry.

It's the company's first R&D center outside its United States headquarters.

"I am here to continue a process that will change the face of the business, not only in China but in the world," said Alfred Chuang, chairman and chief executive officer with the US application infrastructure software firm.

The company announced yesterday that it would inject several million US dollars into the R&D facility, but declined to reveal the exact amount.

The centre is expected to recruit more than 100 local software specialists in the first year, but Chuang said this figure will increase "many times" in the coming years.

According to Frank Xiong, vice-president of BEA Systems and managing director of the Beijing R&D centre, his company would move the research work of some current software products from the United States in the first phase.

In the second period, the company would develop some ingenious software products in China.

He said the whole software development process will be conducted in Beijing rather than just doing sales support, product testing and localization.

Alfred Chuang said the R&D facility in Beijing will be different from similar organizations set up by other multinational companies, as all the intellectual property rights will belong to BEA China rather than its global headquarters.

"BEA's new China Development Centre is the latest way BEA is partnering China to build an intellectual-property-based economy powered by software created and developed in China, and exported to customers throughout the world."

Chuang said that in the future, BEA will unite skilled people in China, the United States and 35 other countries and regions where the US software firm has offices to build its Chinese operation into a leading Chinese software firm instead of another sales office of a US company.

BEA China is ranked among the top 10 software firms in China. It has more than 200 employees and four offices in the country.

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