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Technology Stocks : Compaq -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: robbie who wrote (12617)	1/3/1998 3:41:00 PM
From: Paul van Wijk	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 97611

Robbie, I accept your apologizes for your insolent posting to me. Have a nice day, Paul

To: robbie who wrote (12617)	1/4/1998 11:14:00 AM
From: Mohan Marette	Respond to of 97611

Computers to be the foundation of Shanghai industry FOO CHOY PENG- (source: south china morning post) As Shanghai braces for the information age and its re-emergence as a financial centre, officials are looking at the computer industry to be an industrial pillar of the economy. This could come within the next year, when output is predicted to hit 10 billion yuan (about HK$9.29 billion), the yardstick by which an industry is considered a pillar. Officials say it is more likely for 2000, when annual output of computers and related products is forecast to reach 25 billion yuan, to be the date the industry will be considered a leading sector. "This is a goal we have set: to have 25 billion yuan in output, which will certainly consolidate its role as a pillar industry," an official responsible for computer policy and development said. The Shanghai computer industry focuses production on automated teller machines (ATMs), personal computers (PCs), monitors, printers, and CD-ROMs. Output this year is likely to hit 10 billion yuan, against 6.15 billion yuan last year and four billion in 1995. The impetus for the industry's phenomenal expansion came in 1993 when the municipality set up the Shanghai Computer Application & Industry Development Team to examine ways to promote the industry. As an indicator of its importance, the government appointed deputy party secretary Chen Zilias as team leader, and vice-mayor Jiang Yiren as deputy leader. After several studies, the team concluded emphasis must be on financial and commercial electronics, industrial and office automation, software and PCs. To stimulate development in those areas, the municipality devised two projects - the so-called "Golden Card" network, and PC awareness and usage among residents. The idea behind the Golden Card network is to encourage banks which issue credit cards that tap into a common ATM network, where holders of, say, a Bank of China card may be able to withdraw cash from the ATMs of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China, or Bank of Communications. "The eventual aim is to have a credit card that can be used by the holder for everything - to withdraw cash, pay for his purchases and many more functions," the official said. Most banks have taken part in the project, allowing holders to tap into 1,254 ATMs and 2,504 POS machines. The banks have issued five million cards to Shanghai's 13 million people. "So far, the project is focused on users in the city centre. "We need to expand the network to the suburban areas and this can be achieved by 2000," the official said. Although hardware production will be the focus of its thrust, software development will not be neglected. It is expected to contribute up to 10 per cent of the industry's output of 25 billion yuan by 2000. "There are not many foreign software producers in Shanghai due to their high prices and the relatively low income of people." The second strategy involves building the use of PCs in the home. One requirement stipulates employees under the age of 50 must learn basic computer skills. In the home, more parents are investing in computers to help their children's education. By 2000, the government expects 15 per cent of the city's 2.5 million households to own computers, against 6 per cent last year, and less than 2 per cent in 1994. With numbers like these, the chances are good that Shanghai will see its dreams of electronic supremacy coming true.