Alisoft, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Alibaba Group, announced that it will offer free Internet-based management software to all 42 million small- and medium-enterprises (SMEs) in China as part of the Group's ongoing effort to make it easy for SMEs to do business using e-commerce.
The software, called "Shopkeeper(TM: 63.44, -0.17, -0.27%)", comprises an accounting and finance module in the initial edition; an inventory management and a customer relations management module.
Shopkeeper(TM: 63.44, -0.17, -0.27%) will be free to SME users for at least three years. Apart from the free software license, Alisoft will provide free upgrades, training and customer support for all users. Shopkeeper(TM: 63.44, -0.17, -0.27%), a simple-to-use software targeted at key decision makers in SMEs, addresses the need of small business owners who desire to keep track of their money, inventory and customers.
To make Shopkeeper(TM: 63.44, -0.17, -0.27%) and other business software widely available to the market, Alisoft will invest up to RMB1 billion over the next three years to cultivate the SME-focused software industry, and further drive usage of Internet-based software, or "software-as-a-service", as a new paradigm of how businesses use technology to manage their operations.
3/31/2009
3/29/2009
Bank of China 2008 profit up 14.4 percent
Bank of China Ltd., the third-largest commercial bank by assets, said Tuesday its 2008 profit rose 14.4 percent. However, Chairman Xiao Gang warned that banks' 2009 outlook is uncertain.
"China's economic development still faces significant uncertainties. The impact of the current global financial crisis will continue to worsen and further affect the global real economy," he said. However, he added, "the opportunities faced by the banks still outnumber challenges in 2009.”
Deposits rose 16 percent to 6.9 trillion yuan ($1 trillion), Bank of China said. It trails Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country's biggest lender, and No. 2 China Construction Bank Ltd. in assets.
"China's economic development still faces significant uncertainties. The impact of the current global financial crisis will continue to worsen and further affect the global real economy," he said. However, he added, "the opportunities faced by the banks still outnumber challenges in 2009.”
Deposits rose 16 percent to 6.9 trillion yuan ($1 trillion), Bank of China said. It trails Industrial & Commercial Bank of China Ltd., the country's biggest lender, and No. 2 China Construction Bank Ltd. in assets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
