Speaking at the Emerging Market Economy Forum on Electronic Commerce, co-hosted Tuesday by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the Dubai government in Dubai, Alan Siu, deputy secretary for information technology and broadcasting of the HKSAR, briefed members of the OECD on the potential of e-commerce development in Hong Kong.

He noted that Hong Kong has put in place world-class telecommunications infrastructure, which forms the backbone for e-commerce to flourish.

A London-based economist intelligence unit has ranked Hong Kong's e-commerce readiness among the top 10 in the world. Forrester Research has forecast that Hong Kong will be among the lead group of economies in the Asia Pacific region to register e-commerce hypergrowth, from US$2 billion in 2000 to US$70 billion in 2004.

Siu said that with the imminent accession of China to the World Trade Organization, Hong Kong is best placed to benefit from the opening of the mainland market.

With Hong Kong being a major trading and financial center in the Asia-Pacific region, "we have enormous opportunities to be a key player in the global e-commerce world," he said.

"To seize the opportunities ahead, Hong Kong will continue to enhance its information infrastructure and exploit new technologies and applications. We will also work closely with other economies to contribute to more regional and international cooperation in promoting cross-border e-commerce," he added.

(Xinhua 01/16/2001)