Search China Travel News:

Microsoft has invested US$50 million in China so far this year, and plans to invest another US$10 million before year-end, Greater China chief executive Tim Chen said Wednesday, as it vies for a piece of China's small but fast growing software industry.

After several years of relative quiet, Microsoft has recently stirred to life in China with a string of acquisitions over the last few months.

"We expect to invest in two more ventures by the end of the year, bringing our total investment for the year to US$60 million," Chen said.

The new activity comes three years after the world's biggest software maker pledged to invest 6.2 billion yuan (US$766 million) in China, one of the largest foreign commitments to the country's fledgling software market at the time.

In May, Microsoft announced the creation of two ventures for its MSN Internet service in China, saying the development would help it provide a full range of services for both online and mobile phone users.

It followed a month later with the announcement of an IT development joint venture with Indian software outsourcing giant Tata Consultancy Services and several Chinese partners.

In July, it agreed to invest US$25 million in Hong Kong-listed Lang Chao International Ltd., a unit of a larger Chinese software maker.

Most recently, the company said this week that it and International Finance Corp., the World Bank's commercial arm, would together invest US$35 million in software maker Chinasoft International Ltd.

Microsoft is competing with other software companies like Tata, Infosys Technologies and Sun Microsystems to capture the lead in China's fast growing software industry.

The market grew at an annual average rate of about 39 percent to 2003 from 1999, and was worth US$19.7 billion in 2003, according to official data.

As the market grows, a number of major local players have also begun to emerge, with names like UF Soft and Kingdee International.

Microsoft is also fighting an uphill battle in China as the Chinese Government tries to promote the broader use of the open-source Linux operating system, a lower cost alternative and direct rival to Microsoft's flagship Windows system.