[photopress:Bill_Gates_in_Beijing.jpg,full,alignright]Bill Gates, on his fourth visit to China in three years, says Microsoft will seriously invest in China. He said,’We are initiating new campuses in Beijing and Shanghai. We see us and other major players doing this expansion throughout Asia.’
Bloomberg News reported that Microsoft is stepping up research operations in a market where about 80% of business software is pirated, and more than 90% of 1.3 billion people don’t own computers. And where many government departments lean towards open source and home-grown software.
Tim Chen, Microsoft vice-president and chief executive of its mainland, Taiwan and Hong Kong operations, and plainly not a person familiar with Australian slang, told the China Daily,‘Our core strategy is to implement a unified strategy, get rooted in China and grow with the local economy and software industry.’
Microsoft, which started its first research center in Asia 10 years ago, will establish one with Lenovo to help develop new computers and hand-held electronics. Bill Gates said, ‘Not only is Asia benefiting from the use of technology, Asia will also be the source of breakthrough and advances in technology. . . .We’ll more than double the capacity we have to hire R&D staff’ in Beijing and Shanghai.
Microsoft China Research & Development Group, which has centers in Beijing and Shanghai, employed 1,200 people as of last year according to its web site. Last week Bill Gates also announced a $3 software package for students that may deter piracy, spur legal sales.
Source: Shanghai Daily