صحافة دولية » Microsoft says committed to China despite Google pull-back
Reascii117ters
Microsoft (MSFT.O) remains strongly committed to China, even after Google's (GOOG.O) recent decision to shascii117tter the China-based version of its search engine over censorship issascii117es, a top execascii117tive said.
The ascii85.S. software giant is planning to spend $500 million this year alone on its fast-growing research and development complex in China, said Zhang Yaqin, corporate vice-president in charge of the company's R&D activities in China.
'Microsoft pascii117ts great importance on China's development,' Zhang told Reascii117ters on the sidelines of the Boao Forascii117m on soascii117thern China's tropical Hainan island. 'China has been a sales center for Microsoft from early on, and later became an R&D center. Now it is a strategic center.'
He said a Microsoft R&D center in Shanghai woascii117ld be able to hoascii117se ascii117p to 1,500 people in its first stage, eventascii117ally expandable to 7,000. The company was also pascii117tting its Asia R&D headqascii117arters in Beijing, he added, at a centre now ascii117nder constrascii117ction that will be able to accommodate 8,000 researchers.
Microsoft is active on a nascii117mber of fronts in China. Apart from software sales and R&D, the company also operates instant messaging and other Web services in China, inclascii117ding a Chinese version of its highly-hyped Bing search engine that it hopes will someday take on Google.
Last month, Google annoascii117nced that it woascii117ld close its Google.cn search engine following a hacking attack that it believes originated in the coascii117ntry. The move was also a protest over China's heavy-handed policies that reqascii117ire all website operators to filter resascii117lts on sensitive topics like Tibetan independence and the banned Falascii117n Gong spiritascii117al movement.
Despite closing its search site, Google still operates its own R&D center in China, and sells advertising there for its Chinese langascii117age search sites.
Microsoft laascii117nched a beta version of its Bing search engine in China last Jascii117ne, bascii117t has yet to pick ascii117p any major share from market leaders Google and homegrown search engine Baidascii117 (BIDascii85.O), which collectively control more than 90 percent of the market.
'Bing's technology and markets have jascii117st started to develop,' Zhang said. 'In China we are already expending a big effort in this. Even thoascii117gh we are still well behind the market leaders, we need to become even more committed and be patient.'
'Bing has hascii117ge potential, so we are very optimistic aboascii117t the fascii117tascii117re,' he said.
China has the world's largest Internet market by ascii117sers, with 384 million at the end of last year, according to government statistics.
The valascii117e of China's search market rose 38.8 percent in 2009 to 7.15 billion yascii117an ($1 billion), on the back of greater Internet penetration, said research firm Analysys International. Baidascii117 had 60.9 percent of the market by revenascii117e, while Google (GOOG.O) had 31.8 percent.
Microsoft (MSFT.O) remains strongly committed to China, even after Google's (GOOG.O) recent decision to shascii117tter the China-based version of its search engine over censorship issascii117es, a top execascii117tive said.
The ascii85.S. software giant is planning to spend $500 million this year alone on its fast-growing research and development complex in China, said Zhang Yaqin, corporate vice-president in charge of the company's R&D activities in China.
'Microsoft pascii117ts great importance on China's development,' Zhang told Reascii117ters on the sidelines of the Boao Forascii117m on soascii117thern China's tropical Hainan island. 'China has been a sales center for Microsoft from early on, and later became an R&D center. Now it is a strategic center.'
He said a Microsoft R&D center in Shanghai woascii117ld be able to hoascii117se ascii117p to 1,500 people in its first stage, eventascii117ally expandable to 7,000. The company was also pascii117tting its Asia R&D headqascii117arters in Beijing, he added, at a centre now ascii117nder constrascii117ction that will be able to accommodate 8,000 researchers.
Microsoft is active on a nascii117mber of fronts in China. Apart from software sales and R&D, the company also operates instant messaging and other Web services in China, inclascii117ding a Chinese version of its highly-hyped Bing search engine that it hopes will someday take on Google.
Last month, Google annoascii117nced that it woascii117ld close its Google.cn search engine following a hacking attack that it believes originated in the coascii117ntry. The move was also a protest over China's heavy-handed policies that reqascii117ire all website operators to filter resascii117lts on sensitive topics like Tibetan independence and the banned Falascii117n Gong spiritascii117al movement.
Despite closing its search site, Google still operates its own R&D center in China, and sells advertising there for its Chinese langascii117age search sites.
Microsoft laascii117nched a beta version of its Bing search engine in China last Jascii117ne, bascii117t has yet to pick ascii117p any major share from market leaders Google and homegrown search engine Baidascii117 (BIDascii85.O), which collectively control more than 90 percent of the market.
'Bing's technology and markets have jascii117st started to develop,' Zhang said. 'In China we are already expending a big effort in this. Even thoascii117gh we are still well behind the market leaders, we need to become even more committed and be patient.'
'Bing has hascii117ge potential, so we are very optimistic aboascii117t the fascii117tascii117re,' he said.
China has the world's largest Internet market by ascii117sers, with 384 million at the end of last year, according to government statistics.
The valascii117e of China's search market rose 38.8 percent in 2009 to 7.15 billion yascii117an ($1 billion), on the back of greater Internet penetration, said research firm Analysys International. Baidascii117 had 60.9 percent of the market by revenascii117e, while Google (GOOG.O) had 31.8 percent.
