Government measures to promote e-commerce in Hong Kong
25 - 02 - 2000

The Government has adopted various measures to promote the development of e-commerce in Hong Kong and to boost the public confidence in this new mode of trade.

E-commerce, which enables businesses to reduce their operating cost, enhance their competitiveness and enter into new markets, has been gaining popularity and importance in the business world.

According to the results of a recent research, only about 10 per cent of the organisations in Hong Kong have adopted e-commerce to run their businesses.

Many organisations are reluctant to adopt e-commerce in operating their businesses because of the security concerns and the lack of confidence in conducting business transactions over the Internet.

The current problem of using Chinese in electronic communications and transactions also hampers the adoption of e-commerce by the local community the majority of which prefers to communicate in Chinese.

Speaking at the Bi-monthly Seminar for Small and Medium Enterprises today (Friday), the Deputy Director of Information Technology Services, Mr Cheng Yan-chee, said that the Government has adopted various measures to promote the development of e-commerce in Hong Kong.

The Legislative Council enacted the Electronic Transactions Ordinance (the Ordinance) on January 5, providing a clear and supportive legal framework for the conduct of e-commerce in Hong Kong.

Mr Cheng said, "Under the Ordinance, electronic records and digital signatures are given the same legal status as that of their paper-based counterparts."

"A legal framework is also established to promote and facilitate the operation of Certification Authorities (CAs)," he added.

CAs serve as trusted third parties to ensure trust and security in electronic transactions.

To enhance public confidence, CAs can apply for government recognition from the Director of Information Technology Services.

"Through the use of digital certificates issued by CAs, digital signatures and the public/private key cryptography, participants in electronic transactions will be able to authenticate the identity of the parties involved, to ensure the integrity and confidentiality of the messages exchanged, and to make sure that the transactions cannot be repudiated," Mr Cheng said.

Hongkong Post began to act as the public CA on January 31 to provide CA services to the public and businesses.

"The private sector is free to set up its CAs to meet different demands from the community and the number of CAs to be established will be determined by the market," Mr Cheng said.

To facilitate the use of Chinese in electronic communications and transactions, the Government published the Hong Kong Supplementary Character Set in September 1999 and is taking an active role in discussions with the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) on the development of the ISO 10646 standard.

The ISO 10646 standard is intended to encompass all written scripts, including the Chinese characters commonly used in Hong Kong.

In the long run, the Government is going to adopt the ISO 10646 standard as the open and common Chinese language interface in Hong Kong.

"The Government takes the lead to promote the benefits and cost-effectiveness of adopting e-commerce by introducing the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) scheme," said Mr Cheng.

"Through the ESD scheme, members of the public can obtain free public services through the Internet, interactive telephone or television, and information kiosks 24 hours a day and seven days a week," he added.

The first phase of the scheme, in which 10 government departments and public agencies have participated, is expected to be implemented in October this year.

"The information infrastructure developed for the ESD scheme will be opened for the private sector to make use of in conducting e-commerce at a later stage," said Mr Cheng.

To help Hong Kong companies, especially small and medium sized enterprises, embark on e-commerce, the Government is working closely with industry support organisations like Hong Kong Trade Development Council and Hong Kong Productivity Council in providing them with e-commerce solutions and technical advisory services.

The Government will continue to hold seminars and exhibitions jointly with other organisations to promote e-commerce among various sectors of the community.

- ENDS -