Beijing Municipal Government & Microsoft Sign Memorandum of Understanding

BEIJING, Feb. 27, 2003 — To facilitate the greater development of use of technology in Beijing for the benefit of citizens, enterprises and the software industry, Beijing Municipal Commission for Science & Technology and the Informatization Office of Beijing Municipal today signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Microsoft. According to the memorandum, Microsoft will continue its investment in Beijing, and both parties will carry out cooperation in e-government, software outsourcing and training of software professionals. As part of the memorandum, Microsoft also announced plans to invest in Beijing to build a “PC Innovations Lab” to support the innovation and business needs of China’s PC and device manufacturers. Liu Qi, Party Secretary of Beijing and Bill Gates, Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft Corp. attended the signing ceremony today.

“Developing the local software industry is a priority for the Beijing Municipal Government, and strengthening the cooperation with multinationals is the key strategy,” said Liu Qi. “We attach a high attention to the cooperation with Microsoft, and we think this kind of cooperation will help enable us to further develop the construction of Beijing’s IT infrastructure and the growth of local software industry.”

Bill Gates said at the signing ceremony, “Microsoft is very pleased to be partnering with the Chinese government and industry to develop its software industry. Building on a strong base of talent and skills in its software sector, the momentum of Chinese enterprises in the use of information technologies, and strong government support, China has great potential to realize its potential as a global leader in software.”

Jun Tang, President of Microsoft China, appreciated the support Microsoft China has received from Beijing Government and said Microsoft has invested R & D center, Microsoft Research Asia and the first JV with China in Beijing. Microsoft will make its contribution to enable Beijing to realize its role as a leader of the IT economy.

Microsoft also announced today to invest US$2.2 million over the next five years to build a “PC Innovations Lab” in Beijing. This is the first lab Microsoft has invested to support the technical innovation of China’s PC and device manufactures. The lab provides vital quality assurance and hardware and driver compliance testing to improve the critical manufacturing efficiencies of the manufacturers. The lab will also collaborate with Chinese companies to jointly develop valuable IP and bring to market cutting edge PC technologies. Microsoft is committed to work hand-in-hand with Chinese hardware partners to enable them gain competitive advantages in the global PC market and help with the continual growth and success of China’s vibrant IT industry.

Microsoft will directly or indirectly provide software outsourcing orders to software companies in Beijing under the Memorandum of Understanding On Strengthening Software Industry Cooperation signed between Microsoft and State Development and Planning Commission last June. Microsoft will also cooperate with the Beijing government on training of software professionals. Microsoft has committed to help train 600 software architects and 600 project managers to meet the demand of software professionals by the software industry.

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Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.

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