WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER
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"WE DO NOT RULE OUT, AT THIS STAGE, ANY POSSIBLE OPTIONS IN DEVELOPING TRADE-RELATED EDI IN HONG KONG, MR MACLEOD SAID, ADDING THAT THE CONSULTANTS' PROPOSALS AS WELL AS TRADELINK'S VIEWS ON THE WAY FORWARD WERE BEING CONSIDERED.
MR MACLEOD NOTED THAT THE GOVERNMENT HAVE WATCHED WITH INTEREST THE EMERGENCE OF EDI
A TECHNOLOGY FOR TRANSMITTING STRUCTURED BUSINESS INFORMATION ELECTRONICALLY BETWEEN COMPUTER SYSTEMS OF DIFFERENT ORGANISATIONS.
HE SAID THE GOVERNMENT RECOGNISED THE IMPORTANCE OF EDI AND THAT IT HAD A KEY ROLE TO PLAY IN ITS INTRODUCTION IN HONG KONG.
PATCHY.
TRACING THE DEVELOPMENT OF EDI, MR MACLEOD NOTED IT HAD BEEN
INITIALLY OVERSEAS EDI NETWORKS HAVE TENDED TO DEVELOP WITHIN VERTICAL INDUSTRY SEGMENTS, LINKING CUSTOMERS AND SUPPLIERS IN INDUSTRIES SUCH AS AUTOMOBILE MANUFACTURING, RETAIL DISTRIBUTION AND FINANCIAL SERVICES.
"RECENTLY. HOWEVER, EDI SYSTEMS FOR THE INTERNATIONAL TRADING SECTOR HAVE BECOME INCREASINGLY PROMINENT, INVOLVING A WIDER SPECTRUM OF PLAYERS IN THE TRADING CYCLE, HE SAID.
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HE NOTED THAT SIGNIFICANT TRADE RELATED EDI INITIATIVES HAD BEEN LAUNCHED IN COUNTRIES SUCH AS USA, FRANCE. UK. BELGIUM, AUSTRALI NEW ZEALAND AS WELL AS JAPAN, KOREA AND SINGAPORE,
"BUT I BELIEVE NONE AS YET INVOLVE MORE THAN TRADERS, AND INTERNATIONAL EDI TRAFFIC IS VERY SMALL,
A MINORITY OF HE SAID.
MR MACLEOD WENT ON TO POINT OUT THAT THE MOVE OF HONG KONG'S OVERSEAS TRADING PARTNERS AND COMPETITORS TO EDI WOULD BE LIKELY TO HAVE A SIGNIFICANT
INTERNATIONAL
COMPETITIVENESS.
IMPACT ON HONG
KONG'S
"CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES IN THE UNITED STATES FOR EXAMPLE ESTIMATE THAT WITHIN A FUW YEARS, MOST OF THEIR TRADE DOCUMENTATION PROCESSING WILL BE CARRIED OUT ELECTRONICALLY.
"THE UNITED KINGDOM CUSTOMS AUTHORITIES HAVE SIMILAR TARGETS. CONSEQUENTLY THE PRESSURE FROM OUR EXPORT MARKETS TO USE EDI SERVICES IS LIKELY TO INCREASE SUBSTANTIALLY AS TRADE RELATED EDI INITIATIVES IN NORTH AMERICA AND EUROPE COME TO FRUITION, AND INTERNATIONAL ARE ESTABLISHED BETWEEN THEM.
"AT THAT STAGE
LINKS
AN ABILITY ΤΟ FORWARD TRADE DOCUMENTS ELECTRONICALLY TO THE RELEVANT OVERSEAS AUTHORITIES WILL ENABLE SUPPLIERS TO REDUCE CARGO CLEARANCE TIMES AND THEREBY IMPROVE THEIR COMPETITIVE POSITION," HE SAID.
/MR MACLEOD