HONG KONG (Yonhap News) ― Orion Corp., South Korea’s second-largest confectionery company, expects to see its China sales rise 43 percent to reach 1 trillion won ($880 million) in 2012, driven by rising income levels in the world’s most populous country, company officials said Thursday.

The company’s operating profit will likely rise to about 100 billion won this year, compared with an operating income of 69 billion won last year, it said.

Orion’s strong performance in China stems largely from the robust growth of the country’s confectionery market, which is estimated to have been worth $6.53 billion last year.

Traditional Chinese confectionery products made up 68 percent of the total market, while Western confectionery products made up the rest.

The overall market is expected to reach $38.7 billion in 2016, and the potential size of the Chinese confectionery industry is estimated to be as high as $84 billion.

The South Korean confectionery maker gained a 2.7 percent market share in China last year, ranking fourth among the top six foreign confectionery companies operating in China.

It followed Want Want Holding Ltd. of Taiwan, Wrigley Co. and Kraft Foods Inc.