Archive - Year 2001

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Archive > Year 2001 > ITSD > Speeches and Presentations in Year 2001

Speech by Mr. Alan Wong, Director of Information Technology Services at a networking activity with leading information technology (IT) companies in Silicon Valley of the United States on
01 November 2001

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am delighted to be here in Silicon Valley and to have the opportunity to learn more about the developments taking place here in the cradle of information technology (IT); and to speak about the IT strategy on the other side of the Pacific, in Hong Kong.

You may think this is an inopportune time to be involved in such a mission. The burst of the 'dot-com' bubble some 18 months ago and the current economic downturn which has been exacerbated by the terrible events in New York and Washington on September the 11th, have made the global business climate far from certain. However, to stop doing business would be to simply give in to the terrorists. And that is something which we will never do.

You may have already heard, or read that the economies of the East Asia -- which were beginning to pick up quickly after the debilitating impact of the Asian financial crisis -- are finding times are tough once again. We in Hong Kong are looking at a GDP growth of one percent for the year, but even that revised forecast may be too optimistic. Nevertheless, we have put forward a package of measures that will help to tide us over the current downturn and to put us on track for future growth and development in the new knowledge economy.

And central to that development is our continuing upgrade of our information infrastructure and technological skills. Why? We are firm believers that despite the present setbacks, the Internet, its applications, broadband services and wireless and mobile communications will continue to help drive the world economy. Some of the shine may have gone off the 'new economy', but has anyone found a substitute to replace the business requirements for secure, fast communications? Indeed, the Financial Times last year described the Internet as 'one of the most powerful forces shaping business for decades'. And I have no hesitation in embracing that description.

The HKSAR Government fully recognises the importance of IT to our future in the knowledge-based economy. We have launched our first IT strategy - the "Digital 21" IT strategy in November 1998 and have made substantial improvements to our information infrastructure since then.

We have fully liberalised our telecommunications market which leads to the development of a world class telecommunications infrastructure, with competitive services and prices. Through private sector investment, Hong Kong already has one of the most advanced broadband networks in the world. Our broadband networks cover practically all commercial buildings and over 95% of households.

To instill trust in conducting electronic transactions, we have enacted the Electronic Transactions Ordinance and introduced a legislative framework for e-commerce to flourish, and established the local public key infrastructure needed for the conduct of secure electronic transactions, based on a minimalist regulatory approach.

The HKSAR Government is committed to taking the lead in the adoption of e-commerce and has set a good example for the private sector to follow by launching our Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) scheme, or Government on-line services. ESD will transform the way in which the public interacts with the Government and with each other.

While the US is certainly more advanced than Hong Kong as a technology producer, we are good technology users. We now have one of the world's highest mobile penetration rates of over 80%. Around 60% of our households have personal computers (PC) and nearly half of our population are already Internet users.

At present more than 7 million smart e-payment cards -- that is, roughly one for every resident in Hong Kong on average -- are used for public transport and other financial transactions.

To cope with technological changes and world e-commerce development, we have launched a new "Digital 21" IT Strategy in May this year, which capitalises on Hong Kong's early success in establishing a world-class environment for the information economy. The main aim is to promote further development of IT and e-commerce to improve our economic and social prosperity and to further strengthen Hong Kong's position as a leading digital city.

The key areas that we focus on are --

(1)To enhance the world class e-business environment in Hong Kong. Our flagship IT project, the Cyberport, will open in phases from early 2002 to end 2003.

(2)To ensure that the Hong Kong Government leads by example. Our target is to provide e-option for 90% of public services which are amenable to the electronic mode of delivery by end 2003.

(3)To develop Hong Kong's workforce for the information economy.

(4)To strengthen the Hong Kong community for digital exploitation by narrowing the digital divide.

(5)To leverage Hong Kong's strengths in the exploitation of enabling technologies.

As an advanced technology user, Hong Kong will be the first economy in the world to issue mobile digital certificates for community-wide adoption. The Hongkong Post mobile e-Cert system is also the first one that can support the operation of mobile digital certificates on a wide range of wireless devices. This infrastructure development makes Hong Kong a pioneer and a leader in mobile service and technology.

In the coming two years, leading edge technologies such as 3rd generation (3G) mobile communications, digital television and Next Generation Internet applications will come on stream, making Hong Kong one of the leading cities in exploiting technologies to drive economic growth.

However, even with the necessary infrastructure, the rewards from innovation can still be greatly diminished without strong and vigorously enforced intellectual property rights. The public must also be educated to respect these commercial rights. In both these areas, Hong Kong has made impressive advances and our efforts have been recognised by US government officials.

Ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to take up any more of your time, except to encourage you to come and see for yourselves what is happening on the ground in Hong Kong. The opportunities are there and I am sure you will be impressed with what you see and help us to build up our IT capability and capacity.

Thank you.

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