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Foundation Buys a Million Computers
The Free Deed Foundation is preparing to conclude an agreement worth approximately $200 million with the Taiwanese Asustek Computer Co. on the purchase of a million laptop computers. The Free Deed Foundation is sponsored by affiliates of Oleg Deripaska. Basic Element spokesmen explained that the computers will be used in Russian schools.
Alexey Voronkov, head of the Asustek office in Moscow, said that papers were still being drawn up on the agreement. He added that the computers, the company's Eee PC 700 model, would be delivered in the course of five years. That model has a retail price of about 11,000 rubles in Russia and $260 in the West. Voronkov would not confirm the identity of the buyer of the computers.
The Free Deed Foundation provides 200 million rubles a year to a program called “The Temples of Russia” and engages in philanthropic activities. The Eee PC will make its debut on the world market at the end of this month. The Eee PC 700, the cheapest of three Eee models, will have a 2-gigabyte flash memory instead of a hard disc and operational memory of 256 megabytes. It will weigh 900 grams and come with Windows XP and Microsoft Office. It will have a 7” screen. Asustek plans to sell 200,000-300,000 Eee models this year.
Asustek president for sales and marketing Jonathan Tsang stated that the purchase price of the Eee PC 700 for large buyers will be $199. Observers say that the contract with Free Deed cannot be have a wide profit margin.
www.kommersant.com
All the Article in Russian as of Oct. 15, 2007
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