Concur Expands Into China's Corporate Travel Market

China is now the world's biggest business travel market, having surpassed the U.S. in 2015, and Concur wants an even bigger piece of it.

Concur is making a push to grow in China through partnerships that will let it open local data centers and create localized solutions for large Chinese companies looking to manage their travel and expense spending.

Most major travel management companies already have major presences in China. BCD Travel, for instance, recently signed a deal to own the majority of its China and Hong Kong joint venture. Egencia, American Express Global Business Travel, Carlson Wagonlit Travel, and HRG all have China offices or joint-ventures.

Concur will partner with China DataCom Corporation, which is a joint-venture between Concur's owner SAP and a Chinese telecom company. China already represents the second biggest country for Concur in terms of transaction volume. Concur already partners with Chinese travel giants Didi Chuxing and Ctrip to provide travel services to its customers, so expanding with more localized tools for companies is the next step.

“China represents an enormous market opportunity, and we look forward to expanding the services we already offer multinational Chinese companies,” said Mike Eberhard, global president of Concur. “This is only the beginning as Concur will continue to invest in localization, globalization and digital transformation, working through CDC and other partners together in China to support Chinese companies both locally and abroad."