Government has key role to play in
adoption of e-commerce in Hong Kong

"... Adoption of e-commerce by the business sector [will] help Hong Kong retain its competitive edge and drive its overall economic expansion," he said during morning session on "Government Policy on e-Commerce."

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.

Telecommunication links play a key role in Hong Kong's e-commerce strategy, and has the advantage of having one of the best telecommunications infrastructures in the world.

According to Mr Lau, over the next few years, about HK$13 billion is expected to be invested in Hong Kong's telecommunications infrastructure.

Another important ingredient in the e-commerce equation is that a clear legal framework be in place to provide a secure environment for e-commerce in Hong Kong, which the territory already has with was Electronic Transactions Ordinance enacted in January 2000.

Mr Lau said the setting up of a public certification authority through the Hongkong Post in January 2000, is also an important element in boosting businesses' confidence in doing e-commerce, as was the Electronic Service Delivery (ESD) Scheme which was formally launched on January 19, 2001.

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, Mr Lau revealed.

To bring order to the Chinese language online, the government has 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, he added. B