ARC International expands Asian presence

San Jose, USA, November 21 2002 – ARC International (LSE: ARK), a world leader in configurable System-on-Chip (SoC) platform technologies, has today announced plans to open two offices in the Asia Pacific region by the end of the year. The offices, to be opened in Taiwan and Japan, will provide local sales and technical support bases to focus on consumer electronic and communication product applications such as digital still cameras, MP3 players, color scanners and USB connectivity devices. ARC will bring it’s entire portfolio of intellectual property (IP) to the Asian market, including the ARCtangent™ 32-bit RISC/DSP microprocessor cores, Ethernet and USB peripherals, RTOS, software stacks, host development tools, and the recently introduced USB Now™ IP platform solution.

The first office is expected to open this month in Taiwan, and will be fully supported with dedicated sales, applications engineering and technical support staff. ARC International’s Japanese office will focus on recruiting sales channels for the region to establish ARC’s technology in the fast-growing USB and 802.11 Japanese markets.

The new offices mark a further step forward in ARC’s expansion plans for Asia – a strategic commitment made by chief executive Mike Gulett earlier this year. The company’s push into Asia was initiated earlier this year in June with the appointment of Jim Lang as head of Asian sales. Since then, ARC has signed major distribution and sales agreements with local companies, including the Taiwanese IC distributor, EDOM Technology, as well as forming partnerships with companies such as Hynix Semiconductor Inc.

“Asia Pacific is an important world centre for communication and consumer electronic product design, making it a major growth focus for ARC”, said Mike Gulett, president and chief executive of ARC International. “ARC’s SoC IP platform technologies can be customized to a wide range of applications, so we see a tremendous amount of sales potential for ARC’s broad product line in Asia. By opening local, fully supported offices, ARC will be well-positioned to meet the diversified demands of this region”.

At present, the majority of ARC’s customers are located in the USA and Europe, with approximately 70-80% of revenue coming from the US. The establishment of the Asian sales channel will become an important revenue stream for ARC in the future, with revenue from this channel expected to match that coming from Europe within a year.

About ARC International
ARC International is an industry-leading developer of embedded user-customizable, high-performance 32-bit RISC/DSP processor cores, with integrated development tools, peripherals, RTOS and software. These integrated products and solutions are a result of the acquisitions of MetaWare, VAutomation and Precise Software Technologies. ARC's integrated intellectual property solutions assist customers in rapidly developing next generation wireless, networking and consumer electronics products, reducing time to market, reducing their cost, reducing the number of IP suppliers and reducing their risk for system-on-chip products. Products based on ARC's technology include digital still cameras, set-top boxes, and network processors.

ARC International employs 200 people in research and development, sales, and marketing offices across North America, Europe and Israel. Full details of the company's locations and other information are on the company's web site, www.ARC.com. ARC International is listed on the London Stock Exchange as ARC International plc (LSE:ARK).

Statements made in this press release that are not historical facts include forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ from those indicated by such forward-looking statements include, among others, market acceptance of the ARC technology; fluctuations in and unpredictability of the Company’s quarterly results; general economic and business conditions; regulatory policies adopted by governmental authorities; assumptions regarding the Company’s future business strategy; changes in technology; competition; ability to attract and retain qualified personnel; risks associated with the Company’s international operations; and other uncertainties that are discussed in the “Investment Considerations” section of the Company’s listing particulars dated 28 September 2000 filed with the United Kingdom Listing Authority and the Registrar of Companies in England and Wales. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of developments occurring after the date such statement was first made.

ARC, the ARC logo, ARCtangent and USB Now are trademarks of ARC International. All other brands or product names are the property of their respective holders.