Cisco Systems to Help Small and Medium-Sized Businesses in Korea

SEOUL, South Korea - September 21, 2004 - Cisco Systems® President and CEO John Chambers today announced the establishment of a US$50 million financing facility to help Korean small and medium-sized businesses adopt and deploy networking technologies. The facility will be established by the Cisco® subsidiary, Cisco Systems Capital® Korea which provides leasing and other financial solutions to Korean customers.

Cisco Capital Korea has arranged over US$ 250 million in lease, loan and installment payment financing to Korean service providers and large enterprise customers since its founding in 1999. It now plans to expand these programs to small and medium-sized businesses. The company will offer flexible leasing and installment payment programs as an efficient way of reducing total information technology (IT) investments for companies that want to regularly upgrade networking equipment to enhance productivity and sustain competitiveness, while reducing their initial capital expenditures.

While visiting Korea to celebrate Cisco Korea's 10th anniversary, Chambers also held talks with DJ Chin, minister of Information and Communication of Korea, met with Cisco customers and channel partners and praised Cisco employees for their contribution in helping Korea become one of the world's IT leaders.

Chambers also gave a special address, to CEOs of Korean Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) member companies, entitled "The Power to Align Business Strategies and IT Strategies." He emphasized that companies must focus on building an intelligent, integrated network infrastructure, while reengineering business processes and integrating applications to maximize IT investments, increase productivity and enhance competitiveness.