Microsoft Plans to Spend $900 Million in China

Microsoft Corp. outlined plans to spend $900 million in China by buying local computer hardware and forming joint ventures and partnerships to boost the software maker’s sales in the No. 2 computer market.

The money will be invested over five years, Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft said in a statement with the Chinese National Development and Reform Commission. The spending, $700 million on hardware and $200 million on ventures, is the second phase of a 2002 agreement.