Press Release

 

 

Speech by Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting (English only)

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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Information Technology and Broadcasting, Mrs Carrie Yau, at the Hong Kong Society of Accountants WebTrust Launch Conference today (February 27):

Mr Andy S.C. Lee (President of HKSA), Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen,

It is my great pleasure today to officiate at the Launch Conference of the WebTrust Programme of the Hong Kong Society of Accountants. The launch of the Programme marks a major step forward to enhance the quality standard of e-commerce services in Hong Kong. We are also very proud that Hong Kong is the first licensee of WebTrust in the Southeast Asia to provide a quality assurance service to e-commerce activities.

In the past two years, we have witnessed speedy e-commerce development in nearly all sectors in the community. The total value of e-commerce transactions in Hong Kong is expected to grow from US$2 billion in 2000 to US$70 billion by 2004. We all have a common goal to ensure that Hong Kong taps the full potential of e-commerce so that we can successfully compete in the international arena in the New Information Age.

With concerted efforts of the Government, the private sector and the community, we have put in place the essential information infrastructure to facilitate e-commerce development. We have enacted the Electronic Transactions Ordinance, which provides the legal framework for the conduct of electronic transactions and the use of digital signatures.

Through our partnership with industry support organisations, we have cultivated a stronger awareness of IT and e-commerce in the community. The private sector has also responded positively by developing many new and innovative e-commerce applications and online services which are penetrating into various spheres of our daily life. Hong Kong does have all the necessary and conducive elements to develop into a regional hub of e-commerce.

Heading towards this development, all those who provide online services have an important role to play and a crucial challenge to meet. E-business is now simply business and trust and quality assurance are the keys to success. In the e-business world, privacy, security, consumer protection are vitally important.

The WebTrust Programme launched today provides a trustworthy mechanism whereby a WebTrust seal is issued to those services which meet the stipulated quality standards in these important aspects. With the seal, consumers will have greater confidence. And service providers will have a readily available means to measure the quality standard of their services and have the incentive to adopt the best business practices developed having regard to international standards. All these will drive service enhancement and build confidence.

The WebTrust Programme is an excellent example of an industry-led initiative to enhance the quality of e-commerce services in Hong Kong. I am confident that the programme, which is internationally recognised, will contribute towards the flourishing development of e-commerce applications and the wider adoption of e-commerce in the community.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Hong Kong Society of Accountants for its vision and the efforts it has made in bringing the WebTrust Programme to Hong Kong. This clearly demonstrates that our professionals have a key role to play to drive e-commerce development for our future economic growth. Thank you.

END/Tuesday, February 27, 2001

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