Asia e-commerce to reach $440 b. in 2005

HONG KONG: Business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce transactions in Asia

(excluding Japan) will reach US $440 billion by 2005, nearly 10 per cent of the

forecast global total of US $4.5 trillion, according to a Goldman Sachs report

released on Thursday.

The survey of 70 companies across the region also concluded that B2B

e-commerce will boost economic growth in individual Asian countries by around

0.2 per cent to 0.8 per cent a year over the next decade.

Still, e-commerce adoption in Asia is uneven, trailing the United States by

about 18 months, with developed markets such as Australia and South Korea

leading the e-commerce way, followed by Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan.

China, with a less-developed infrastructure, will begin to see a B2B boom in

2003-04, while southeast Asia will lag further behind, the report said.

Adoption of B2B e-commerce will allow companies to cut costs and extend their

market, but will also intensify competition, the report said.

The study found that 71 per cent of respondents had been planning their

e-commerce strategies for at least six months, although 45 per cent had not yet

settled on an e-commerce plan.

Early regional B2B leaders identified by Goldman Sachs were Hong Kong's

Hutchison Whampoa, China-based PC-maker Legend Holdings and Hong Kong’s

trading firm Li & Fung.

(C) Reuters Limited 2000.