The new Smart ID Card will create business opportunities for service providers, software vendors and developers involved in the adoption of Public Key Infrastructure and PKI-enabled solutions, Director of Information Technology Services Alan Wong says.

Opening the International Conference on Usage of Public Key Infrastructure in e-Business today, Mr Wong said the smart card provides a secure platform to facilitate the development of e-government and e-business.

It employs sophisticated cryptographic techniques to protect user data, ensuring that it cannot be fraudulently altered or accessed by unauthorised parties. Its successful launch has provided a technology platform for future applications.

Mr Wong said the card will inspire the industry to develop applications, products and solutions based on the chip embedded in it that employs PKI technologies.

He said the Government has launched a number of initiatives to enhance Hong Kong's e-security infrastructure and facilities.

These include the enactment of the Electronic Transactions Ordinance in January 2000 that provides a legal framework for the conduct of e-business.

Mr Wong said the Government has been playing a leading role in the adoption of PKI for nearly a decade, such as the Community Electronic Trading System.

It was launched in 1997 for processing online trade-related documents including import/export declarations, certificates of origin and cargo manifests through electronic data interchange.

To secure the data exchange and payment transactions, the system uses PKI technology.

Today, there are some 53,800 companies participating in the system, generating more than 51,000 transactions per day and 17 million documents annually.

Mr Wong said plans are in hand for a second service provider to offer front-end electronic trading services from next year.

The new service will be Internet-based and PKI will be employed to secure the electronic transactions.

Another well-known example of PKI adoption is the Electronic Service Delivery scheme under the e-government programme.

Mr Wong said digital certificates are employed to ensure confidentiality, integrity and non-repudiation for transactions requiring a higher level of security. 

"Since its launch in December 2000, over 3.9 million transactions have been performed through the scheme. The public can access about 170 services offered by 50 Government departments or public agencies," he said.

Under the Electronic Tendering System, another e-government initiative, PKI technology is used for signing and encrypting documents for companies to submit tender proposals to the Government electronically.

Also speaking at the Conference, Postmaster General Allan Chiang said that with the issuing of the new smart card, individuals can opt to embed a digital certificate in it. He anticipates there will be several million digital certificate subscribers in Hong Kong by 2007.

He said that according to recent Government surveys, Internet penetration among all households in Hong Kong last year was 52.5%. Such high penetration provides a solid basis for e-commerce to grow and flourish in Hong Kong.

Mr Chiang said another encouraging note is that 96% of respondents said they had used one, or more than one type of electronic business service in the 12 months before the survey, indicating a positive reception to the introduction of Internet-based services.

However, the usage of on-line purchasing services was only 4.9% and the value of business receipts through electronic means was only $22 billion - less than 0.5% of total business receipts received in Hong Kong.

"When it comes to monetary transactions on the Internet, the concern about who is on the other side is very real. PKI will be the solution to address these concerns," he said.