Houston, TX, March 31, 2004 - Today at the Government Procurement Connections (GPC) annual conference, the Indo-American Chamber of Commerce of Greater Houston (IACCGH) presented HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) with its President's Award for Excellence in recognition of the excellent work HP has been doing to promote small businesses.

HP was given the award this year for the notable impact it has made across the country with its Business Matchmaking program. The Business Matchmaking program is a partnership between the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and HP that matches small businesses with federal, state and local government agencies and large corporations that have actual contracts for products and services. It is the largest small business initiative in SBA history and provides a major economic stimulus to America's small businesses. The award was presented to an audience of over 750 attendees by IACCGH founding member and current Executive Director Jagdip Ahluwalia.  John Thompson, senior vice president, commercial solutions group, HP PSG Americas accepted the award on behalf of HP:

"HP understands this powerful business segment is the engine that drives our country's economy. HP recognizes the global potential of small business and knows how important it is to prepare small businesses with the means and technology to help them prosper. Every large business started as a small business and we at HP have never forgotten our heritage, no matter how large we've grown."

The Government Procurement Connections conference is a government contracting event for small, minority, women-owned and disadvantaged businesses (S/MWDBE). This conference is put together in concert with the City of Houston and provides a forum for government agencies, corporations and small businesses to discuss potential business relationships.