HK recognized as world e-business leader: official
( 2001-06-05 20:29 ) (8 )

Hong Kong has been recognized internationally as one of the places with the best potential to develop e-business, a Hong Kong official said Tuesday.

Carrie Yau, secretary for Information Technology, told the Opening Ceremony of "E-World" that the London-based Economist Intelligence Unit has recently ranked Hong Kong's e-business readiness amongst the group of "e-business leaders" in the world.

Another research institute, Forrester Research, has forecast that Hong Kong will be among the lead group of economies in the Asia Pacific region to register e-business hypergrowth, she said.

The value of e-business transactions in Hong Kong is expected to grow from 2 billion US dollars in 2000 to 70 billion US dollars in 2004, according to Yau.

Hong Kong also boasts one of the world's highest mobile penetration rates at 80 per cent, Yau said, noting that Hong Kong has broadband connection covering practically all commercial buildings and over 95 percent of households.

Hong Kong's external connectivity at 44 Gbps, which is amongst the highest in Asia, will increase by 10-fold in the next two to three years. The SAR also has high personal computer penetration, at 50 percent, and Internet penetration, at 36 percent, Yau said.

Yau said the next step for the government will be to capitalize on its early success and strive to position Hong Kong as a leading e-business community and premier digital city in the globally connected world.