SHANGHAI: Lloyd's Register, a leading risk management services provider, is aiming to achieve compound annual growth of 20 percent in its China revenue and headcount in the next five years via the nation's booming rail sector, a company executive said.

The British firm provides safety, quality, asset management and classification services for sectors like shipping, rail, oil and gas. It chalked up $20 million in revenue in China last year, said John Stansfeld, director of Lloyd's Register's Asia operations.

"We have managed to record double-digit growth in the past few years and we aim to keep the compound annual growth rate of at least 20 percent in our revenue in the next five years," Stansfeld told China Daily.

"We are also planning to increase our workforce in the country by 20 percent a year at the same time," he said.

Lloyd's Register, which is also the world's leading shipping classification firm, currently boasts about 440 employees in China, of which 350 are based on the mainland.

"Rail and marine sectors will be our principle business focus in China," Stansfeld said.

"The railway sector in particular boasts enormous market potential for us," he added.

China is planning to build 7,000 kilometers of dedicated passenger lines, 4,000 kilometers of double-track lines, and upgrade 8,000 kilometers and 15,000 kilometers of existing track to double-track and electrified lines during the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) period, with total investment expected to reach 1.25 trillion yuan.

"The shift to the hi-tech railway systems also presents us with a huge potential market," Stansfeld said, referring to China's efforts to modernize its extensive rail networks.

China increased its rail speed on Wednesday, the sixth upgrade since 1997.

"We can leverage our safety, efficiency and other expertise in high-speed rail systems to help China's shift to high-speed rail drive," Stansfeld said.

And China's growing volume of railway equipment exports would also spur Lloyd's Register's business in the country, the director said.

"China is now exporting more and more rail system equipment and we could provide certification and other services to help Chinese manufacturers meet overseas requirements," Stansfeld said.

The booming metro sector, Stansfeld said, is another "business driver" for his firm's expansion in China.

Currently, six cities on the mainland have subway systems and more lines are under construction in other cities.

China is expected to overtake Japan as the company's biggest market in the region in the next two years, Stansfeld said.

The London-based firm has seven offices on the Chinese mainland in Dalian, Beijing, Qingdao, Nanjing, Shanghai, Wuhan and Guangzhou.

It plans to open three new offices in the country next year in Tianjin, Xiamen and Jiangyin.

(China Daily 04/20/2007 page14)

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