High-tech company to expand presence in global markets

Hongda Hi-tech Group Co Ltd, a company engaged in information collection and biometric identification technologies, plans to expand its presence in Africa and Southeast Asia, where the demand for bio verification services is soaring.

"Nearly 50 percent of our revenue comes from outside China. We have made and issued identification cards to residents from Laos and Papua New Guinea in cooperation with local governments, as well as about 50 million driver's licenses in Indonesia," said Wang Xin, chairman of the Changchun-based company.

Wang, who is a member of the 13th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, is bullish on the prospects for his company in the countries and regions related to the Belt and Road Initiative, especially African countries and Southeast Asia.

"The market potential is very huge in the overseas markets as 70 to 80 percent of our profits come from there."

Wang saw no difference between his company's technology and that of international competitors when bidding for overseas projects, adding that China holds a leading position in biometric identification technology.

Residents' ID management is a very sensitive matter, Wang said, adding that as a Chinese company, Hongda could get the deal because foreign authorities in these countries trust China's technology.

In 1986, Hongda developed the country's first population information management system set, which was approved by the Ministry of Public Security. It has access to an ID poll that covers residents from more than 20 provinces, occupying over 70 percent of the market share across the country. It is also involved in the face information and fingerprint collection and card manufacturing of passports and work permits for foreigners in China under the permission of authorities, according to Wang.

Its biometric identification products have played a leading role in biometric identification, especially fingerprint identification technology. As one of the first suppliers of an automated fingerprint identification system, Hongda is a formulator and drafter of the technical standards for the quality of fingerprint locks in China.

"We are promoting the mobile phone identification, that is, (making sure) the information of SIM cards is in accordance with the owner of the handset," Wang said.

Biometric identification technology, which includes fingerprints, iris scans and facial recognition, could be widely used in security, finance, healthcare, education and transportation.

China's biometric identification sector has been experiencing a surge in demand for its services in recent years, according to ibaogao.com, a market research report website. In 2015, its revenue reached more than 10 billion yuan ($1.6 billion), and the figure is expected to hit 30 billion yuan by 2020, with a compound annual growth rate of 24.6 percent.