Government in full swing to promote e-commerce
16 - 02 - 2001

The Government has taken a proactive approach to promote the adoption and development of e-commerce in Hong Kong.

Speaking in an e-commerce seminar today (February 16), the Director of Information Technology Services, Mr Lau Kam-hung, said,"It is the policy of the Government to create an environment conducive to the adoption of e-commerce by the business sector to help Hong Kong retain its competitive edge and to drive its overall economic expansion."

"The Government is dedicated to building an open and common infrastructure to enable the conduct of e-commerce in a safe and secure environment, and to enable e-commerce to flourish in Hong Kong," he said.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit in London, Hong Kong ranks ninth globally and second in Asia for its readiness for the adoption of e-commerce.

Under the "Digital 21" Information Technology Strategy, the Government has implemented a number of measures in establishing this open and common infrastructure.

A fundamental element to support e-commerce is telecommunication links, and Hong Kong has already had one of the best telecommunications infrastructures in the world.

Mr Lau noted that in the coming few years, industry anticipated that about HK$13 billion would be invested in Hong Kong's telecommunications infrastructure, further enhancing Hong Kong's capability to develop into a telecommunications hub in Asia.

Besides the excellent telecommunications infrastructure, the Government has introduced a clear legal framework to provide a secure environment for e-commerce in Hong Kong through the enactment of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance in January 2000.

Another government measure to instill public confidence in e-commerce is the establishment of a public key infrastructure in Hong Kong by setting up a public certification authority through the Hongkong Post in January 2000.

As Chinese is the mother tongue of the majority of the Hong Kong people, the Government has also established a common Chinese language interface by adopting the international ISO 10646 standard for electronic communication and data exchange of Chinese among Government, businesses and individuals.

Apart from establishing the information infrastructure for e-commerce, the Government has been exemplary in adopting electronic means to deliver its services to the public and conduct e-commerce with the business sector.

A prominent example is the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) Scheme which was put to use in December last year and formally launched on 19 January 2001.

ESD is a flagship Government-to-Citizen and Government-to-Business e-business web site (http://www.esd.gov.hk), through which the public can obtain a wide range of services on the Internet and public kiosks 24 hours a day and seven days a week, in a straight-through and secure manner.

The information infrastructure developed for the ESD is also going to be available for use by the private sector for the conduct of e-commerce.

Apart from the ESD Scheme, the Government has also set a leading example for the private sector in the area of e-procurement through the implementation of the Electronic Tendering System (ETS).

The ETS enables suppliers from all over the world to receive notification of tenders, submit tender offers and receive notification of contract award through the Internet.

These initiatives form part of the Government's overall commitment to undergoing business transformation to take advantage of information technology, thereby providing enhanced public services.

To maximise the potential for and benefits of adopting e-commerce by involving the wider community, the Government has also organised various events to publicise to local companies, especially the small and medium-sized enterprises, and the general public the benefits of adopting e-commerce in their business or daily lives.

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