(Yicai) Aug. 1 -- The size of China’s information and communications technology market will exceed USD720 billion by 2027 as the country enters a critical period of digital transformation, according to a recent report.

China's ICT market is expanding at a compound annual rate of 6.2 percent between 2022 and 2027, 0.5 percentage point faster than the global compound annual growth rate for the same period, US market research firm International Data Corporation said in a report released today.

Last year, China’s ICT market was worth USD530 billion, compared with USD4.7 trillion globally, the report said. By 2027, China’s ICT market will account for 11.7 percent of the world's market.

The financial sector, professional services, government and manufacturing will together account for more than 50 percent of total spending in China's ICT market, Massachusetts-based IDC said.

The business software segment is experiencing the fastest growth, with a projected compound annual growth rate of nearly 20 percent over the next five years. As large language models and big data technologies continue to develop, both the government and private users are expected to invest more in software applications and innovative research and development, it added.

In a highly competitive market, the financial sector will seek to improve business insights by pursuing advanced data analysis technologies and thus will hike investment in ICT. And ICT spending in the manufacturing industry will maintain a compound annual growth rate of over 11 percent in the next five years, it added.

China’s ICT corporate market has enormous potential for growth in hardware, software and business services, the report said. Most expenditure is on hardware infrastructure and this is projected to exceed USD180 billion by 2027.

Editor: Kim Taylor