Chinasoft, which is one of the most acquisitive players among China’s nascent service provider communities, did not disclose the terms of the deal for Powerise, which is a subsidiary of Hunan Powerise Information Systems Co Ltd, and one of software giant Microsoft’s four strategic partners in mainland China.
Powerise International provides low-cost software development work to clients in the US and Japan including NEC, Arthur Andersen, IBM, and Oracle. It has about 170 employees providing services including applications design, testing, coding, and support.
Chinasoft was established in April 2000 when 20 key management staff left state-owned China National Software & Technology Service Corp. Microsoft led a $35m investment in Chinasoft International in conjunction with the World Bank in September 2004.
The company makes the bulk of its sales domestically, and is particularly strong in the public sector where clients include the State Bureau of Tobacco Control. The company listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange in June 2003, and made a net profit of $4.3m on revenue of $35.5m in full-year 2004.
