Hong Kong Progresses On-Line Trading Structure

by Mary Swire, Tax-News.com, Hong Kong

06 June 2002

Hong Kong's Economic Services Bureau (ESB) has awarded the contract for initial development of an e-commerce trade platform to global consulting firm Accenture.

The Government sees development of a comprehensive online trade-management portal as a critically important initiative in securing Hong Kong's status as a premier cargo hub, and had previously paid millions of dollars for a report, known as the McClier Report on the SAR's logistics infrastructure, which included a proposal for a Digital Trade Transport Network (DTTN) to "facilitates the movement of goods, including their processing through customs".

However the McClier report didn't elaborate on what the DTTN might look like, and this will be part of Accenture's contract.

ESB will form a steering committee to help Accenture on the project, which will be chaired by John Hammond, co-ordinator of the e-logistics project team under the Logistics Development Council.

It's likely that Tradelink, the government's minority-owned trade management portal for regulatory documents, which went live last year, will play some part in the structure of the DTTN.

Neither the ESB nor Accenture would divulge the value of the contract, but it is thought likely to exceed US$1m. There is speculation, however, that Accenture may have been prepared to work for less than its usual astronomical rates in order to secure a good place on the starting grid when it comes to tendering for the main development project for the DTTN.

Recommended