Jun. 27, 2001

Toyo Engineering Corporation (TEC, President Toshihiko Hirose) and its IT-related affiliated company, Toyo Business Engineering Corporation (B-ENG, President Takashi Inomata), have established a new Joint Venture company in IT business, together with Shenzhen Bluenet Software Services Ltd. (President Ding Zhu) headquartered in Shenzhen, China to provide software services for the manufacturing industry.

The new Company name is the "East Net Co., Ltd.", which commenced operations from July 1, 2001. The main business operations of this Company are the development of computer system software related to production facilities and system consulting for the manufacturing industry. The paid-up capital of the Company is US$300,000 and the percentage of shares is as follows: TEC 48%, Bluenet 40% and B-ENG 12%. For the first fiscal year, the number of employees are to be about 50 people.

East Net Co., Ltd. aims to effect a seamless melding of Information Technology and the manufacturing industry. This involves EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) services for parts ordering and orders acceptance and SI (systems integration) services to link existing client systems with EDI systems, and software sales mainly among Japanese manufacturing companies (assembly manufacturers/parts manufacturers). In three years from the establishment of the Company, it is planned to achieve sales turnover of 500 million yen and a workforce of 100 people.

The south of China, including Shenzhen, is becoming a global manufacturing base for home electric appliances and electronic parts, and investment in the IT sector is very buoyant for the emerging supply chain of the Japanese owned companies in this region. At the moment, there are very few IT consulting firms for the manufacturing industry, and so this Company is utilizing a broad array of IT tools such as production management packages, customs clearance packages and ERP package software. The Company seeks to expand its business territory and its operational areas through channeling of its clients while also maintaining an awareness of the need for a service to link the local operations of these overseas subsidiaries with the core operational systems of their parent companies in Japan.

TEC Group is providing a solution business for the clients that covers the management of on-site information with corporate decision-making systems (Field to Enterprise) by utilizing its extensive experience gained in the construction of numerous production facilities and the know-how it has acquired from its capabilities advanced in IT. TEC and B-ENG are now placing major emphasis on the implementation of client services utilizing IT and the development of new business opportunities. The establishment of this Company is designed to respond to this need, and is one aspect of their globalization. Also, the Company is seen as being a strategic center where TEC Group can utilize IT technicians in China.

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