HK to participate in Beijing e-Government Expo

The Permanent Secretary for Commerce, Industry and Technology (Information Technology and Broadcasting), Mr Francis Ho, will lead a delegation of Government departments and local information technology (IT) industry to participate in the e-Government China 2002 Expo in Beijing from December 10 to 13.

The delegation will comprise representatives from nine Government departments and senior executives of 16 Hong Kong IT companies. These companies are suppliers of e-government solutions, services or products to the Hong Kong Government and they take part in the delegation through an open recruitment exercise.

A Hong Kong pavilion of over 260 square metres will be set up in the Expo exhibition at the China International Exhibition Centre to showcase the e-government achievements of the Hong Kong Government and the capability of the local IT industry to develop advanced and quality systems and solutions to meet a wide diversity of e-government needs.

A spokesman for the Commerce, Industry and Technology Bureau said that it was the first time that the public and private sector joined hands to demonstrate Hong Kong's expertise and talents in the development of e-Government solutions in the Mainland, which has become an increasingly important market of the local IT industry. Over 40 per cent of Hong Kong software vendors have established branch operation in the Mainland.

"Hong Kong IT companies are capable of developing advanced and high quality e-government solutions. They should be able to offer their services in the informatisation of the Mainland, with many provinces and cities getting increasingly focused on e-government development. The Expo, which will be attended by Mainland representatives from different agencies, provinces and cities, will provide a valuable forum for the local IT companies to explore business opportunities in the Mainland market. The track record of these companies providing e-government solutions, services or products to Hong Kong Government will add strength to their efforts to market themselves in the Mainland," the spokesman said.

The Expo is co-organised by the Informatisation Office of the State Council, the Chinese Academy of Science, the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, and the China Science and Technology Association.

This is the first large scale e-government exhibition and forum organised by the Mainland after the accession to the World Trade Organisation. It will provide a useful platform for exchanges on technologies and applications to promote the further development of e-government in the Mainland.

Mr Ho will make a presentation on Hong Kong's experience and achievements in developing e-government in the forum for sharing with Mainland representatives from different provinces and cities, and will highlight flagship e-government projects launched in Hong Kong, e.g. the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) scheme, which won the prestigious Stockholm Challenge Award, and the Electronic Tendering System, which is one of the first in the world to enable tenders to be issued and bids received via the Internet.

During the visit in Beijing, Mr Ho will also officiate at the opening ceremony of Radio Television Hong Kong's Beijing News Centre on December 9.

Apart from Mainland China, Hong Kong Government also helps local IT industry to explore other markets overseas. For example, the Secretary for Commerce, industry and Technology, Mr Henry Tang, led a local IT industry delegation to take part in the Softworld held in Canada in September this year.

Partnership forums were also organised during the ITU Telecom Asia 2002 to enable overseas delegations which take part in the event to explore collaboration with the local industry.

Friday, December 6, 2002

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