CE is the first-time entrant in IDC's tracker which has been tracking the performances of ASPs in China for years. The ranking achieved by CE, which serves Mainland SMEs, is a rare example of a home-grown brand reshaping the competitive landscape in the Mainland IT services market.

The global IT market is forecasted to experience a slower pace of growth with a cumulative aggregate growth rate of 6.5% for the period 2005 to 2009. China has become a key driver of global IT products and services demand growth as the country has sustained a growth rate of 17.1%. In the next five years, investments in the Mainland IT market are expected to exceed the aggregate amount made in the past 24 years.

The emergence of China's IT services market as a new global force is powered by the rapidly developing SMEs in the country. SMEs have increasingly been providing key impetus to the economic growth of China. Leading Chinese newspaper Commercial Times（中華工商時報）gave an estimate of more than 10 million SMEs in Mainland China in 2003, accounting for over 95% of the state's total number of enterprises. The SMEs collectively contributed 75% of job vacancies, 51% of GDP, and 43.2% of tax revenues of the country. Currently much less digitalized than their counterparts elsewhere in the world, China's SMEs point towards strong demand for IT services.

The outsourcing of IT services is a cost-effective way for SMEs to enhance IT capability and quality while they remain focused in developing their core competences. Mr. Ken Xie, Principal Analyst of IDC China said, "Hosting has become a major trend in IT services outsourcing. In China, outsourcing is the fastest growing sector in the IT services market, with a forecast growth rate of 39.9% for the coming five years. This validates the excellent potential of the Chinese IT industry."

Mr. P.H. Yu, the Chairman of CE, added that, "In the past, most Mainland SMEs were unable to afford IT application or outsourcing. CE has changed the business paradigm of the sector by providing them with ‘direct applications' of IT services. We build and constantly upgrade a state-of-the-art platform that is customized to the operational and management requirements of SMEs. On this backbone, we provide our customers with multi-layered and standardized, one-stop solutions to help them advance through IT applications deployment. Under our model, the SMEs do not need to make excessive investments in hardware and engaging IT professionals."

The healthy development of China's IT services market points to robust demand for ASPs by Mainland SMEs. Such trend is expected to continue to drive the country's overall economic efficiency and to lead to an era of high growth for the IT services market.

About Sino-i
Sino-i is a company listed on the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (HKEx stock code: 250). Its strategic business advancement focuses on becoming market leader in selected high-growth sectors including information application services for corporations, financial information services, culture & media, distance learning..

About CE
CE is a subsidiary of Sino-i. It is a leading Internet ASP in China, committed to driving the development of the country's e-Commerce. CE provides comprehensive and multi-layered information solution and applications for over 200,000 enterprises in the country. It operates more than 60 branch offices nationwide, including Beijing, Shanghai, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Guangzhou, supported by staff of 7,000. For more information please visit www.ce.net.cn.

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Ms. Wang Yuan, CE
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Email: wangyuan@myce.net.cn

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