Microsoft said today it will spend more than $1bn on research in China over the next three years - and that's in addition to the $300m the company has already committed to a research and development centre in Beijing.
Chairman of Microsoft China's research and development, Zhang Yarin, said the budget "is mainly targeted at staffing and resources for research and development... it does not include mergers and acquisitions". He was at a press event to introduce former Motorola executive Simon Leung as the new chairman and chief executive for the Chinese wing of the computing giant.
The announcement means Microsoft has increased the country's budget by as much as ten times; previous statements said it would invest $100m in Chinese software firms and $100m in software development.
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