Bill Gates, co-founder of microsoft and co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, speaks at a breakfast meeting with the theme "Dialogue: Technology & Innovation for a Sustainable Future" during the Boao Forum For Asia Annual Conference 2015 in Qionghai city, south Chinas Hainan province, 29 March 2015. [Photo: Imagine China]

Microsoft has announed it plans to offer 100 million yuan worth of free cloud-computing services and software tools to 100 Chinese startups.

The promotion is seen as bid to bolster its cloud-computing business in China.

The new initiative will be launched in the next 6-months.

Start-ups involved will have access to Microsoft's Azure cloud-computing service, software and development tools.

The move is an attempt to try to wrestle market-share from Amazon and Alibaba, who also offer cloud-computing services in China.