COPENHAGEN, Sept. 4 (Xinhua) -- Danish toy manufacturer Lego reported on Wednesday a revenue rise of 4 percent and a 12-percent drop in net profit for the first half of the year, but still valued the Chinese market.

The net profit for the first six months was 2.67 billion kroner (about 392 million U.S. dollars), the Lego Group released the number, saying that the drop was caused by a major investment strategy.

Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of Lego explained the three-pronged nature of the strategy as an investment in "opening new markets, developing new products and expanding in China."

China has been the major recipient of the Lego investment. The company expects to have more than 140 stores in 35 Chinese cities by the end of this year, all generated by increasingly strong sales growth in the country.

Such a large investment has momentarily overshadowed the actual increase in sales, especially the growth of sales in established markets such as Western Europe and the United States.

"Despite difficult conditions, we continue to increase our sales and market share in our largest markets," said Christiansen, in the press release.

Nevertheless, the Lego Group sees huge potential in the Chinese market and has been investing proportionately.

Lego hopes to have more than 590 stores worldwide by the end of 2019.