March 18, 2003 USA

Los Angeles, USA - March 18, 2003 John Wu, Chief Technology Officer of Alibaba, was invited to have the keynote speech in the "2^nd IBM/APEX Chinese-American Executive Forum - From Good To Great in 2003" in Pacific Palms Conference Center, City of Industry, Los Angeles, California on March 13, 2003.




This event was hosted by IBM and Apex Computer System, Inc. to present topics on business strategy and information technology to business owners and executive-level managers. Nearly 100 executives from different Chinese and American companies in Los Angeles area and west coast of USA attended this seminar. Some other speakers in the forum included Philp Chen, CEO, Apex Computer Systems, Inc.; Linda Yue, Sr. Project Executive, IBM Global Services; Mark Feldstein of Concentric, Brian Porter of LaserFiche and Alex Chow from Apex Computer.

The topic of John's speech is "The Role of Information Technology in the Space of International Commerce". During his 45 minutes-speech, John introduced Alibaba's short story and mission. He also mentioned the Import/export virtual community for businessman; Internet transformed the international trade landscape; Match-making for international trade; Alibaba rode a technology innovation wave with an adaptive, evolutionary and incremental approach. John especially explained Alibaba's three flagship products and services in details: "China Suppliers" community, "TrustPass" membership and "VIP Buyer Services."

During the seminar, Alibaba also distributed its sourcing CD-ROM that contains a database and product catalogs of all pre-qualified and authenticated suppliers in China.

Other discussed topic and presentations in the forum included From good to great and beyond: growing and sustaining your business; E-manage your business; Going paperless - Document management for business applications; A complete supply chain solution specifically designed for retail suppliers.



About Apex Computer Systems, Inc.

In 1983, Dr. Philip Chen, Ph.D., President and CEO founded Apex Computer Systems, Inc. Apex is a statewide computer service firm headquartered in Cerritos, CA with offices located throughout the state of California. Apex is a unique multi-service organization with three operational units that run independently while working together synergistically.

About IBM

Leading company in the creation, development and manufacture of the industry's most advanced information technologies, including computer systems, software, networking systems, storage devices and microelectronics. IBM is the world's largest information technology company, as well as the world's largest business and technology services consultancy; the world's largest hardware company and I/T rental and financing company with about 300k employees worldwide and operations in more than 160 countries.