Businesses urged to capitalise on development of e-commerce

September 20, 1999

The number of Internet users in Hong Kong has surpassed the one million mark and is continuing to grow. And in the past 12 months, the number of Internet users making purchases on-line in and through Hong Kong has increased by 50 per cent.

The industry estimates that the total value of products and services transacted over the Internet in Hong Kong will increase from US$60 million in 1998 to US$2.4 billion by 2003.

This was disclosed by the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mr K C Kwong, when addressing the opening of the E-services World '99 Conference and Exhibition today (Monday).

Mr Kwong noted that the projected growth in the Mainland was even more impressive, with the number of Internet users rising from about two million in 1998 to some four million now, and the electronic commerce turnover forecast to leap from US$8.1 million in 1998 to US$3.8 billion per year by 2003.

"With the increasingly close ties between the Mainland and Hong Kong, and the affinity on the basis of a common language and culture between the two places, businesses in Hong Kong should be well positioned to capitalise on the opportunities in the Mainland by taking advantage of the development of electronic commerce there," Mr Kwong observed.

Recognising the importance of electronic commerce to Hong Kong's future economic growth, Mr Kwong said the Government was set to launch the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) Scheme which would enable the public to obtain Government services on-line 24 hours a day and seven days a week.

"We are about to award the contract for phase one of ESD and we expect to have the scheme up and running in the latter half of 2000," he said, adding that the scheme would act as a catalyst to pump-prime the development of electronic commerce in the private sector.

To strengthen public confidence in electronic commerce, the Government will take the lead in establishing a local public key infrastructure through the Hongkong Post by the end of the year. He said that through the use of private/public key cryptographic technology and digital signatures, participants in electronic transactions would be able to confirm the identity of the parties to the transactions, ensure the integrity and confidentiality of electronic messages exchanged and safeguard against the repudiation of the transactions.

He welcomed the establishment of competing services by the private sector.

Another initiative taken by the Government is the introduction of an Electronic Transactions Bill which is intended to give electronic records and digital signatures the same legal status as that of their paper-based counterparts. It also seeks to establish a clear framework to support the operation of certification authorities in Hong Kong.

Mr Kwong maintained that through these initiatives, and the efforts of the private sector, the Government would create a favourable environment for electronic commerce to take hold and flourish in Hong Kong.

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