WELLINGTON - New Zealand's technology sector could rival the size of dairy giant Fonterra, with China holding enormous opportunities, according to an industry leader Friday.

The Business Day website quoted Brett O'Riley, chief executive of the New Zealand Information and Communication Technologies Group (NZICT), which represents hundreds of companies in the hi- tech sector, as saying the county's top 100 technology firms "easily" had the potential to double exports to 10 billion NZ dollars ($7.84 billion) in the next 10 years.

A 2010 report put exports of the top 100 technology companies at 4.9 billion NZ dollars, second only to the dairy sector.

O'Riley said NZICT would capitalize on an ICT trade mission to China last year with an inbound China investment and trade forum in Auckland. NZICT would showcase New Zealand software, geo- spatial, digital and robotics capabilities and innovation.

He said China held enormous opportunities with its 318 million Internet users, 726 million mobile phones and a market for software, hardware and ICT services worth tens of billions of dollars.