Local Hong Kong company Progressive Technology
has produced MPF-Pro Web Easy, a Web-based application enabling provident
fund administrators to implement Hong Kong’s mandatory provident funds
(MPF) scheme and manage the growth in P-funds after the scheme’s introduction.
MPF-Pro Web Easy, built using WebSpeed Internet Transaction Processing
(ITP) software from Progress
Software, gives members instant access to P-Funds information allowing
administrators to reduce costs, expand revenues and provide improved
services once the MPF Ordinance becomes law.
Tax-free Provident funds will be mandatory for the entire
Hong Kong workforce resulting in the opening of perhaps three million new
provident
fund accounts.
Contributions totaling more than HK$20 billion ($2.6 billion) are
anticipated from the territory’s 300,000 employers in the first 12
months after the scheme commences, creating significant pressures on the
capacity of insurance companies’ existing management systems.
“The MPF scheme will bring an unprecedented demand for new pensions and the
increased volume of new accounts will place a significant strain on
administrators day-to-day activities,” said WK Lai project director at
Progressive Technology.
“MPF-Pro Web Easy is designed and built in Hong Kong specifically to meet
the needs of P-Fund administrators in the territory,” Lai added. “For
example, the new Web-based connection now allows many more users to manage
their P-Fund accounts–not just administrators, but employers and employees
alike.”
According to Progressive, using MPF-Pro Web Easy employers and employees
can access their P-fund accounts at any time of the day or night via an
Internet browser to obtain up-to-date asset balances and transaction
histories within seconds.
“Progressive’s MPF-Pro Web Easy system is a excellent example of a large
scale application that can be linked to the Web using Progress’ WebSpeed,”
said Dennis Ng, Progress Software’s managing director for North Asia.
“Hong Kong businesses in many industries can enjoy new levels of efficiency–and higher profits–by allowing their clientele to link directly into
their database,” said Ng, “These self-service style applications extend the
use of
the Internet and corporate intranets to strengthen the on-line link between
customers and companies, resulting in more cost-efficient and enhanced
service.”