May 18, 2009 (China Knowledge) - Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu (Deloitte), one of the world's leading accounting and consulting firms, will continue its business growth in China despite the economic slowdown, said Chris Lu, CEO of Deloitte China, the Shanghai Daily reported.

Lu said the expansion is necessary, because the existing 11 offices are not enough for the huge China market. He did not reveal a timetable or any target locations for expansion, explaining that these things depend on many factors.

Lu added that Deloitte will open a new office within a month. It opened an office in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province last year.

Last Saturday, Lu said on the sidelines of the Lujiazui Forum that the company would also enter Sichuan Province as a step toward the potential western China market.

As for transforming Shanghai into a global financial center, Lu viewed these times as an opportunity for Shanghai because the existing global financial centers have been affected by the financial crisis. Shanghai will be able to take advantage of this historical opportunity if the supporting infrastructure along with the judicial and regulatory improvements can be implemented.

According to the statistics released by the Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants (CICPA) last year, Deloitte's total revenue in China was about RMB 2.5 billion, including audited income of about RMB 1.7 billion.

Meanwhile, the big four consulting firms, Pricewater-houseCoopers (PwC), Ernst & Young, Deloitte and KPMG, reaped a combined revenue of about RMB 10.39 billion in 2008, accounting for 33.5% of the total revenue in China's accounting industry.