IT expo reveals hope, challenges for Hong Kong

From...

March 27, 2000
Web posted at: 1:58 p.m. EST (1858 GMT)

by Winnie Lai, Computerworld Hong Kong

(IDG) -- The idea of improving Hong Kongs economic competitiveness by developing the local IT industry was a primary focus at the Hong Kong Information and Infrastructure Expo and Conference 2000 (HKII Expo) held this month.

Held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center, the HKII Expo featured over 125 international and local exhibitors as well as talks by industry executives from across the region on the future direction of the information technology industry and how Hong Kong should adapt itself to remain competitive. The exhibition was organized by the Hong Kong Trade Development Council and the Information Technology and Broadcasting Bureau of the Hong Kong government.

While the mood of the Expo was hopeful, one speaker at the event identified serious challenges that could hinder development of the local IT industry.

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During a speech given on the Expos opening day, Alex Arena, group director of Pacific Century Cyberworks (PCCW), raised two concerns that he said might hinder the growth of a healthy IT sector in Hong Kong.

The first, he said, was the Chinese concept of face.

When I was in California, people would tell you just as proudly and, in fact, in some cases, even more proudly when they failed than when they succeeded. They said, To make a million dollars is easy, but to actually fail and learn from it is something thats very valuable, Arena said.

Arena pointed out that this mode of thought is foreign to Hong Kong and the way that people do business here. Here, face is of primary importance, he said.

We have to be prepared as business leaders to let people have a go and try to create some value. If they fail, dont overly criticize them, Arena said.

Another challenge facing the Hong Kong IT industry is the need to improve the overall quality of education, said Arena. While he was impressed that the government has made substantial investments in education, there has yet to be a qualitative shift in the overall education level in Hong Kong, said Arena.

The lack of [high quality] people will hold up the growth of Hong Kongs Internet economy, he added.

Arena said that PCCWs Cyberport project would help address the lack of qualified professionals. The artificial creation of a center for the development of IT thinking and IT workers is one way to accelerate IT development in Hong Kong, he said.

During his speech at the HKII Expo, Arena also updated attendees on the progress of the Cyberport project. At present, 15 multinational IT companies have already committed to renting space at the Cyberport and over 150 smaller companies have filed their applications, he said.

In a review of what has happened over the past year to spur the uptake of e-commerce in the SAR, Arena described the Cyberport project as the key factor in developing local attitudes towards IT and the Internet.

Nothing seems to have galvanized attention more than that project, he said, adding that other initiatives including the governments funding of IT education and individual startups have also played important roles in building public awareness.

Despite the challenges that Hong Kong needs to overcome to ensure its future competitiveness, Arena said the SAR possesses qualities that make it a global force to be reckoned with: Namely, the entrepreneurial spirit and capital-raising skills that Hong Kong has developed over decades as an international commercial center.

Theres no doubt about the needs of the [IT] sector [in terms of] the significant amount of capital [that needs] to be employed. By establishing itself as the international gateway for Asias Internet marketplace, Hong Kong has already created the largest center for IT venture capital outside of Japan, Arena said.

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Pacific Century Group

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