Hong Kong possesses best potential to develop electronic business

November 24, 2000

Hong Kong is recognized internationally as one of the places with the best potential to develop e-business and the government has been building the necessary infrastructure to create a favourable and conducive environment for the development.

Deputy Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mr Alan Siu, said the above when he addressed the In-house Congress Asia Pacific 2000 this (November 24) morning.

Mr Siu said, "According to the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit, Hong Kong's e-business readiness is ranked ninth in the whole world, and second in Asia.

"According to Forrester Research, the value of e-business in Hong Kong is expected to increase from US$ 2 billion (HK$ 15.6 billion) in 2000 to US$70 billion (HK$ 546 billion) in 2004, representing a huge potential market ahead."

He added that Hong Kong's traditional strengths have contributed to the positive outlook of our e-business development. These include an excellent business environment, world-renowned physical infrastructure such as the port and the airport, an open market economy, free flow of information, freedom of speech; the rule of law; and Hong Kong's position as a world class international financial centre and Asia's largest venture capital centre.

To drive the development of e-commerce, the Government has been building the necessary infrastructure so as to create a favourable and conducive environment.

Mr Siu said, "In terms of soft infrastructure, Hong Kong is amongst the first few places in Asia to have enacted a comprehensive Electronic Transactions Ordinance. The Ordinance was passed in January this year and its aim is to enhance public confidence in the legality and enforceability of electronic transactions.

"In short, the Ordinance is largely based on the United Nations e-commerce model law and it gives electronic records and digital signatures the same legal status as that of their paper-based counterparts. It also gives assurance that electronic records can be used in contract formation and they will not be denied admissibility as evidence in courts on the sole ground that they are in the electronic form.

Mr Siu stressed that the Government has already taken the lead in accepting information in the electronic form from the community under the bulk of the provisions in the Laws of Hong Kong.

He then pointed out the Electronic Transactions Ordinance also provided the legal framework for the setting up of a local public key infrastructure, which substantially enhanced the security of electronic transactions.

Mr Siu explained, " With the use of digital certificates issued by certification authorities, we can authenticate the identities of parties participating in electronic transactions, ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the messages exchanged, and prevent the transactions made from being repudiated on the mere ground that they were carried out electronically.

"We are pleased to witness the establishment of the Hongkong Post Certification Authority at the beginning of this year to provide electronic authentication services to both businesses and individuals. This breakthrough has spurred the use of public key infrastructure technology in new online services provided by both the public and private sectors.

In terms of hard infrastructure, the Government has developed an excellent and advanced telecommunications infrastructure which provides the backbone for our information-based economy.

Mr Siu also outlined the Government's effort in promoting the establishment of advanced electronic commerce infrastructural facilities in strategic fields. The main target was the financial industry and the establishment of a scriptless securities market, with single clearing and straight-through processing.

In addition to providing the infrastructure, the Government also sought to promote the development of e-business by taking the lead and setting a good example for the private sector to follow.

Mr Siu said, "We will launch the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) scheme, our flagship Government-to-Citizen (G2C) and Government-to-Business (G2B) online service, very soon.

"By the end of this year, services like payment of Government fees, submission of tax return, voter registration, renewal of driving and vehicle licence, change of personal address, etc. will be available online 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. The public will be able to access these services through their computers via the Internet, or public information kiosks installed at various convenient locations like MTR stations, supermarkets and major shopping malls.

"Our long-term aim is to include all Government services which are amenable to the electronic mode of delivery under the scheme. More importantly, we will allow the private sector to make use of the open and common information infrastructure of the ESD scheme for conducting private sector e-commerce activities. This will serve as a catalyst to pump-prime e-commerce development in Hong Kong." added Mr Siu.

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