German payment services provider Computop is opening a new office in Hong Kong in response to a 240% increase in demand over the last year from European and US retailers wanting to expand in Asia (view press release). Computop will work with local partners such as hybris, SAP, Sceneric and PayPal in an effort to provide international retailers with local expertise, helping them to fight fraud and achieve higher conversion rates with local payment methods.  The company will also focus on helping Asian retailers expand into Europe and the US.

“China accounts for 34% of all internet usage and has everything it takes for sustainable growth in e-commerce -good infrastructure and logistics, broad Internet access and an established e-commerce industry as well as a large population with a solid growing income,” said Computop CEO,Ralf Gladis. “It is also one of the major economies driving global growth, so our active participation in this market is a very important strategic move for us.”

In the first three months of 2012, China’s import and export totaled USD 859.37 billion, with 7.3% year on year growth. China’s export was USD 430.02 billion and its import was USD 429.36 billion, up by 7.6% and 6.9% respectively, according to the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China. According to Xinhua News Agency, online retail sales in China nearly doubled in 2010 reaching USD 78 billion (CNY 513.1 billion) and are expected to double again by 2013. ABC Research claims China  will become the largest mobile shopping market in 2015.