HONG KONG, September 30, 2005 – In a recent interview with Hong Kong Economic Times, Mr. Winston Wong, Executive Vice President of Azeus Group of Companies, revealed the company's position in developing Mainland China Market and its plan for getting the Certification of Computer Information System Integration Qualification (CISIQ).

Since 2003, the Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) has initiated and aimed at boosting business between the Chinese mainland and the Hong Kong SAR. Under which, the first CEPA initiative specifically highlighting the IT industry, was introduced last December 17 2004 by the Hong Kong Office of Government Chief Information Officer (OGCIO) and China's Ministry of Information Industry (MII). Known as the Computer Information System Integration Qualification (CISIQ), this initiative will allow local Hong Kong IT service suppliers to be certified and compete with their mainland counterparts on Chinese IT projects.

The CISIQ categorizes IT services suppliers in China according to their capabilities in handling IT projects of different sizes and scale. Only System Integrators (SIs) with Level-1 certification can take up central government and national IT projects, while companies certified with Level-4 can only handle small-scale projects from private enterprises.

In an attempt to break into the China market and to bid for government projects, Azeus, one of the major SIs for Hong Kong government projects, has submitted its application for the CISIQ Level 2 in September of this year.

Azeus is the first company in Greater China that has achieved Level 5 maturity – the highest level of maturity under the Capability Maturity Model (CMM). Having a solid track record backed by completing over 100 projects for both the public and private sector, Azeus is one of the first local companies to apply for CISIQ level 2 certification.

“Currently, an IT company can at most apply for CISIQ level 2 for the first time, which is a pre-requisite for them to bid on provincial government projects in the People's Republic of China. After getting level 2 certification, Azeus targets to take level 1 certification so as to bid for national government projects in the near future.” said Wong.

“SI usually adopts offshore development approach in order to reduce the cost of services and thus strengthen its competitiveness. Azeus adopts a Global Delivery Model in many implementation projects, which has been successful for over 10 years. Azeus' offshore development centers in Manila and Dalian offices are tightly integrated into its software development processes that are assessed at CMMI Level 5. The model enables Azeus to maintain a competitive pricing for its clients without compromising the quality of services.” added Wong.

The result of Azeus' CISIQ application will be announced in October. “With the CISIQ as an entry ticket, Azeus believes that further expansion of its client base in China will be realized.” Wong said.

Established in 1991, Azeus is a leading provider of IT consultancy services. With headquarters in Hong Kong, Azeus has established offshore software development centres in the Philippines and China. In February 2005, Azeus acquired BIGontheNet, an award-winning provider of eBusiness software solutions based in Singapore.

Aside from designing and implementing a wide range of IT software and systems to fulfill the outsourcing needs of customers, Azeus also provides maintenance and support services. Azeus has won the first and thus far, only business outsourcing project from the Hong Kong government, covering IT consulting, IT maintenance and support, as well as office operations and support services.

Azeus is appraised at the highest level of process maturity under the CMMI-SW model, endorsing its commitment to deliver high quality work. Its emphasis on high quality solutions has enabled the Group to build a solid track record backed by completion of over 100 projects for both the public and commercial sectors.