Ecquaria to help Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) of Thailand to establish a Service-Oriented Architecture Competency Centre and kick start eGovernment Pilot Projects

Singapore (6 May 2004) - Ecquaria Limited (www.ecquaria.com), leader in enterprise business platform, today announced that it has donated software, training and value-added services valued at US$370,000 (THB $14.5 million) to the Software Industry Promotion Agency (SIPA) to support Thailand's eGovernment plan in transforming the delivery of public services to citizens. SIPA, a government agency under the Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) of Thailand, is committed to promote Information Technology to government and private enterprises. Under the collaboration, Ecquaria and SIPA reached an agreement in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to jointly establish a Service-Oriented Architecture Competency Centre (SOACC). The SOACC is an institution through which Ecquaria and the Ministry of ICT guide the development of proof-of-concepts and provide resources and consultation for Thailand's eGovernment innovation.

According to the MOU, Ecquaria, under the guidance of the Ministry of ICT and in cooperation with SIPA, is committed to provide the Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform™, consulting services, training and value-added services over the next one year to the SOACC. Under the agreement, Ecquaria and SIPA will identify appropriate opportunities to build and deploy eGovernment pilot projects in Thailand by leveraging on Ecquaria's large-scale eGovernment deployment experience in Singapore.

By providing skills training, software products and resources, the collaboration will play a valuable role in helping the SOACC to cultivate cutting-edge skills and knowledge necessary to facilitate them in the development of non-commercial prototypes for eGovernment applications and projects.

Dr Foong Wai Keong, President and Chief Executive Officer, Ecquaria Technologies and Manoo Ordeedolchest, President of SIPA, together witnessed and participated in the MOU signing ceremony in Thailand.

Manoo Ordeedolchest, SIPA President, said, "Led by the Ministry of ICT and working closely with Ecquaria, the establishment of the SOACC indicates that the Ministry is strengthening its role to create a dynamic environment for Thailand's eGovernment plan and projects. We are delighted to receive Ecquaria's support which will help propel the development of our eGovernment initiative and the local software industry."

Dr Foong Wai Keong, Ecquaria President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "The Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform is adopted by several government agencies in Singapore for their eGovernment initiatives. We hope to replicate our success in this collaboration with SIPA and foresee that Ecquaria will play a key role in developing and deploying Thailand's eGovernment pilot projects. "

"Ecquaria is committed to growing together with Thailand's ICT industry and work together with SIPA and the Ministry of ICT to make further contributions to the positive progress of Thailand's eGovernment plan." said Dr Foong.

About Ecquaria Technologies
Ecquaria, a leading enterprise business platform provider, is headquartered in Singapore. Unique in the industry, Ecquaria has pioneered a simple and effective way to provide software integration and new application development all in one single, integrated enterprise business platform. Based on a service-oriented model and Business Performance Management capabilities, the Ecquaria Service-Oriented Platform™ (Ecquaria SOP™) offers a comprehensive business platform to deliver a secure, scalable and reliable process-driven infrastructure for all the enterprise's applications. Offering enterprise-class capabilities, Ecquaria SOP™ enables the enterprise to automate its business processes and provide an efficiently integrated information flow throughout the organization. While providing critical and complete information across the enterprise, Ecquaria SOP™ supports key business objectives to help the enterprise to manage all aspects of its business. Ecquaria's customers include the Infocomm Development Authority (iDA) of Singapore, Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore, Esplanade -Theatres on the Bay, Health Promotion Board, Ministry of Trade and Industry, National University of Singapore, SISTIC and The World Bank. Ecquaria is established with offices in Singapore, China, Mexico and U.S. with an expanding network of global partners to support the activities of customers worldwide.

More information is available at http://www.ecquaria.com