Reuters said that 72 million USD venture funding has been infused into Chinese software maker Kingsoft Corp by a group including Intel Corp, New Horizon Fund LP and GIC Special Investments. With the funding, Kingsoft aims to achieve an overseas listing in Hong Kong in the next year and become the largest online game developer in China and a leading software provider in China and Asian-Pacific Area within three years.

SHANGHAI, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Chinese software maker Kingsoft Corp. said on Monday it had raised ?72 million in venture funding from a group including Intel Corp. (INTC.O: Quote, Profile, Research), as it moves towards an overseas listing worth ?100 million or more in the next year.

Other members of the new funding round for Beijing-based Kingsoft included New Horizon Fund LP and GIC Special Investments, the private equity investment arm of the Singapore government, the company said.

"We want to do an overseas listing in the next year, most likely in Hong Kong, because the language is more convenient and our biggest stakeholders are familiar with the regulatory environment," Chief Financial Officer Kevin Wang told Reuters.

He said it was too early to say how big the offering would be, except that the amount would be ?100 million or more.

He declined to say what share of Kingsoft the new stakeholders purchased for the ?72 million, except that it was far less than a controlling stake.

Founded in 1988, Kingsoft started out as a traditional software maker, but added online games to its portfolio in 2003 to diversify into the hot area, and also because such games are more difficult to copy in a country where piracy is rampant.