OREANDA-NEWS. October 31, 2012. The Chinese government has granted five-year year tax exemption to Guardtime, a company of partly Estonian background, for developing the time stamp technology used to prove the origin of data, date of creation and proof of authenticity.

The Chinese government gave to Guardtime the two million  yuan (247,0000 euro) Shanglin Prize, CEO of Guardtime, Mike Gault, to the business daily Aripaev. The prize is given yearly to new companies and technologies that promote the economic development of China.

"Money is not important, but recognition from the Chinese government is," Gault said in comment. In addition to the prize money and the tax exemption it is accompanied with a free 200 square meter office and a number of bonuses.

"Until today we used our partner's office. Two years ago a risk capital fund of a big Hongkong businessman, Li Ka-shing, invested into our company and we have been cooperating with the company since then in order to better make us known in China," Gault said.

A research and development center of Guardtime operates in Estonia, and the company has invested two million euros into Estonia this year. Gault said that the company was planning to employ in Estonia "as many people as possible". "As our company is growing, we want to extend our office here," Gault said.

We do a lot of business with the government of the Philippines. It was possible to do business with them because we had recognition from Estonia as from an outstanding  e-governance center," Gault said.

In Estonia, for example, the SEB Bank uses Guardtime time stamps. Last year the Estonian Ministry for Economic Affairs and Communications signed a memorandum with Guardtime, in accordance with which opportunities for using the stamp in information systems of the e-state would be worked out. To the Estonian public sector Guardtime offers it services free of charge.